September 21 Print Innovation Asia

Print INNOVATION

Asia

Magazine

Printing, Packaging and Publishing Industries across Asia Pacific since 1985 Issue 9 2021

Covid cuts worldwide print equipment sales by $4.0 billion Page 36

2022 ASIAN

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_018 022 Contents Page 4

Global digital printing market to reach $35.71 billion

by 2028 at 3.7% CAGR

6

Why digital printing alone is not enough

8

Cimpress invests in growing online printing industry

10

The iGen4 was like an old muscle car, while the

Iridesse is like a new sports car.

14

Cooking up a storm with cookbooks and print

18

Official distributor of Aleyant Pressero and

eDocBuilder in Asia Pacific

20

EFI unveils new 5-metre VUTEk Q5r in Shanghai

22

Panda Game Manufacturing to produce

high-quality board games

24

Move from 40-inch to 37-inch: the right decision.

28

The perfect miX for the packaging industry

30

Create a well-known brand and be a

century-old company

32

Ye Sung installs Koenig & Bauer folder gluer

34

Omnicell increases pharmaceutical blister

packaging production

46

Label Printing and the Rollers in your printing press

36

Innovation essential for future print equipment as

Covid cuts worldwide sales by $4.0 billion

38

Digital print in packaging set to grow in

demand to 2026

42

Inkjet, the way into flexabile packaging

46

Neuefeind unlocks the full potential for the benefit of

Packaging Printers

48

Switches offset work to digital

50

Cadbury Dairy Milk blocks' transition to r

ecycled packaging

52

News from around the world

Issue 9 2021

Print INNOVATION

Asia Magazine

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

Paul Callaghan paul@printinnovationasia.com

Editorial

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

Elizabeth Liew elizabeth@printinnovationasia.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Global digital printing $35.71 billion by 2028 Increase in demand for sustainable and cost-efficient printing methods and surge in demand from the food & beverage industry drive the growth of the global digital printing market.

The global digital printing industry generated $25.74 billion in 2019, and is expected to reach $35.71 billion by 2028, witnessing a CAGR of 3.7% from 2021 to 2028, according to a report by Allied Market Research.

the global digital printing market, and is expected to maintain its dominance by 2027. This is attributed to availability of next-generation advanced printing technologies along with the presence of prime vendors in the region.

An increase in demand for sustainable and cost-efficient printing methods and surge in demand from the food & beverage industry drive the growth of the global digital printing market.

However, high initial investment hinders the market growth. On the other hand, rise in usage of digital dyeing and printing technology in the automotive sector creates new opportunities in the coming years.

However, Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the largest CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period, owing to deployment of digital printing applications across textile, food & beverage, and packaging industries.

In terms of regional performance, North America contributed to the highest share in terms of revenue in 2019, holding more than one-third of

Covid-19 Scenario Due to the lockdown measures implemented by governments in various countries, manufacturing activities are hindered. In addition, supply chain disrupted and raw material shortage occurred.

The demand from application industries such as textile, ceramic, and glass decreased due to disruptions in daily operations. However, the demand would grow steadily during the postlockdown as daily operations get back on track.

The inkjet segment to maintain lead position Based on type, the inkjet segment contributed to the highest share in 2019, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the global digital printing market, and is expected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period.

This is attributed to advent of nextgeneration cartridge-free inkjet printers and rise in demand for high-quality output printing solutions from the household, commercial and industrial sectors.

Canon Arizona 135 GT The Arizona 135 GT UV-LED flatbed printer can handle substrates of up to 125 x 250 cm in size and up to 50.8 mm thick and to print at speeds of up to 34.2 m²/hour, with VariaDot greyscale printing technology. It has a vast range of durable applications are achievable on rigid or flexible media with standard or porous surfaces, including glass, aluminium and other metals, canvas, wood, MDF, cardstock, ceramic tiles and plastics.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

g market to reach 28 at 3.7% CAGR

Fujifilm Revoria The Revoria Press PC1120 is a production colour printer that can handle paper of different thicknesses ranging from thin paper at 52 g/m2 to thick paper at 400 g/m2. Targeted at the high-end professional printing market, it prints at a high speed of 120 pages per minute (A4 horizontal) while achieving high definition, high resolution prints of 2,400 dpi with its Super EA-Eco toner. Equipped with a one-pass, six-colour print engine, up to two special toners such as gold, silver, clear, white, pink, and custom red can be used in addition to the basic CMYK toners.

However, the laser segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 4.8% from 2021 to 2028, owing to demand for advanced printing solutions to improve productivity and environment-friendly features offered to the end-users.

The solvent segment to maintain its leadership status Based on ink type, the solvent segment

held the highest share in 2019, contributing to nearly one-third of the global digital printing market, and is projected to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period.

This is attributed to usage in flexographic and gravure printing due to the ability to dry quickly and resist water along with implementation

in publication segments such as newspapers, magazines, and catalogs.

However, the UV-curable segment is estimated to portray the fastest CAGR of 4.9% from 2021 to 2028, owing to its high drying capability and usage in the automotive and consumer electronics sectors.

EFI VUTEk Q Series The new EFI VUTEk Q3r and Q5r UV LED printers produce a wide range of challenging applications, like the most demanding premium POP with multi-layer white and cosmetics displays that demand the highest print quality to the highest volume campaigns that requires the lowest cost of production. The fastest, most productive roll-to-roll display graphics printers in their class, the 198-inch wide VUTEk Q5r printer runs at speeds up to 672 m²/hour, and the 138-inch wide VUTEk Q3r model prints up to 558 m²/hour.

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Why digital printing alone is not enough It’s a trend – many label printers are making the transition from conventional to digital printing to keep up with market demand. Digital printing has some strong benefits over flexographic printing, however, flexo should not be neglected.

Colour reach With digital printing, you’re limited to a smaller and restricted colour spectrum: CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and key/black), violet and orange (and additional green). Sure, with these colours you can print a fair amount of colours, which is suitable for printing images, but there are a wide range of specialized colours and effects you just can’t re-produce on your digital press – such as metallic, certain pastels, fluorescent and neon shades, or when a customer requests ‘18-1659 TPG Goji Berry’.

EF SYMJET samples with cold foil_crop

Here’s why digital printing alone is not enough, and how you can combine the best of conventional and digital printing - all in one press.

Eye-catching effects As I mentioned, digital printing has many benefits compared to conventional printing, such as faster turnaround times, personalization, lower costs for short run print jobs and great flexibility.

But can your digital press print the following highly popular applications and special effects?

Cold foil - Delam / relam - Metallic shades - Hot stamping - Screen printing Laminating - Varnish - PMS colours A digital press prints high quality labels, but they’re just images - simple labels.

If your customers need special effects to really draw attention on the shelf, like a shiny gold or sparkling silver layer, you will need a flexo unit.

In-line finishing I bet you’re thinking: “I could print on my digital press and add that varnish or die-cut them off-line.”

That’s true, but using a separate finishing line is expensive and the process takes time (plus, you’ll need two operators instead of just one).

Presses with in-line finishing exist, like our own EF SYMJET. So why not take advantage of it?

One example of in-line finishing on the EF SYMJET press is this semi-rotary die-cut unit. I wrote another blog about The advantages of semi-rotary diecutting on your hybrid printing press that you might find interesting to read.

Cost price When printing a job, you make choices for the colours you use. For example, opaque white. When you print on transparent material, the white you’ll use will take a large surface, as behind the whole image you’ll need white ink.

Based on cost price, printing this white colour would be much more beneficial in flexo, as this ink is less expensive.

This is where ink mixing comes in, with the range of pigments in flexo that are available, you can make any specific color, such as that Goji etc.

To sum up, both digital and conventional printing have many benefits. As a label printer, you want the best of both worlds to save time, money and be flexible for your customer. This is why a hybrid press is an ideal investment.

We can tell you more about our EF SYMJET hybrid press, that combines digital with flexo technology.

By , MPS Manager Technology & Expertise Centr

Semi rotary die-3an example of inline finishing on the EF SYMJET: the semi-rotary die

https://www.mps4u.com

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Unbox faster turnarounds Make the move to digital – and unbox your business with the flexibility to accommodate fast turns, versioning requests, last minute edits, and changing buying decisions.

With the EFITM Nozomi C18000 Plus digital press for corrugated packaging and POS, you can reduce process steps from weeks and days to hours and minutes. And personalize runs from one to infinity at higher margins and with lower costs – all in a single pass.

Let’s build your brilliant future. Together. Visit nozomi.efi.com to learn how corrugated converters and packaging printers are opening up new ways to say, “Yes!”

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Cimpress invests in growing online printing industry Canon today announces that it has reached an agreement with Cimpress, the global leader in mass-customisation, to supply its businesses in multiple locations, which reflects the strategic decision by Cimpress to continue to invest in technology, including inkjet printing, to retain its position at the forefront of the online printing industry as it continues to grow.

to take the next steps towards the digitalisation of their print business.

Industrial-scale productivity, print quality that matches offset and access to automated digital workflow, are all key reasons for print businesses to invest in growth today and beyond.

The businesses within Cimpress’ portfolio include such online printing powerhouses as Vistaprint, Pixartprinting, Drukwerkdeal, WIRmachenDRUCK and Druck.at, which operate as design, marketing and print partners to millions of businesses around the world.

Robert Keane, Cimpress’ founder and CEO comments, “Cimpress businesses relentlessly focus on innovation, quality and efficiency improvements that enable us to serve our customers well. A key investment area for us is printing technology and we believe

inkjet technology has an important role to play, bringing flexibility, efficiency and a positive step to reduce waste, contributing to the achievement of our sustainability goals.”

Christian Unterberger, Chief Operating Officer & Member of the Executive Board Canon Production Printing, comments, “Inkjet development has reached a level of maturity that allows print service providers to achieve high productivity, cost-efficiency and return on investment without having to compromise on quality. High speed inkjet technology enables printers

Since the launch of the varioPRINT iX-series in April 2020, Canon has seen an increase in sales of its B3 sheetfed inkjet presses. Joining the existing VarioPrint i-series product family, the varioPRINT iX-series has proven to be a compelling investment option for commercial print customers and online printers thanks to its outstanding offsetlike quality, highly reliable throughput and sheetfed application flexibility.

Canon built on its proven successes in the continuous feed market with the launch of the high-speed ProStream 1000 and 1800 presses. With maximum speeds of 80m/min (ProStream 1000) and 133m/min (ProStream 1800), the printer series has been recognised for reaching the highest resolution and print quality of any digital printing press at that speed, enabling customers to achieve maximum performance.

https://www.cpp.canon

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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The iGen4 was like an old Iridesse is like a new spo TM

The iGen4 was superb in its time, and now we’re loving the results of the Iridesse’sTM features like underlay inks, full metallics and the extra gamut of colours and finishes. At the same time, its simplicity and reliability have allowed us to practically double our output – certainly makes our jobs easier!”

Challenge

• How to replace ageing equipment while offering new and exciting services to a discerning customer base.

• How to maximise return on investment while growing a small business in a fiercely competitive, dynamic environment.

Solution

• The six colour IridesseTM Production Press with GX print server goes above and beyond expectations.

• Digital Print Australia capitalises on the valuable relationships built over decades of FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia service that has the hallmarks of integrity and innovation.

Benefits

• Digital Print Australia expands confidently into new print options, and new market segments and increases return customer spends.

• Digital Print Australia doubles print output and offers leading-edge products like dry inks and metallics.

Digital Print Australia pushes the boundaries of what's possible every day with Iridesse .

In 1973 a young Steve Lewis set up shop in central Adelaide as a freelance typesetter – and he’s never looked back. During his army service onshore and in Vietnam, Steve discovered a love for photography, illustration and producing the printed word.

TM

Together with his wife Karen, who’s constantly been his stalwart support and encourager, company financial director and co-visionary, they’re still highly involved in the success of Digital Print Australia. The business employs 12 people and produces leading-edge design and printing, whether simple business cards, general stationery, one-off photo books, commercial or self-published books or photography competitions.

Steve and Karen have always aimed at the high-end print and photography market, specialising in book production.

However, Digital Print Australia does produce the full range of printed products, with a stellar reputation for outstanding service. Steve’s passion for pushing the boundaries of creative design has seen the company evolve through nearly five decades of step change in the publishing industry. From hot metal typesetting and bromides to becoming a PostScript bureau before installing their first digital press in the mid-1990s, the Lewis’s have seen it all.

Digital Print Australia has stood the test of time and come out on top by consistently investing in the highest quality equipment. Today, Digital Print Australia, and its enthusiastic staff, enjoy almost limitless creativity with their six colour IridesseTM Production Press with GX Print Server leading their equipment line-up, alongside their

Nuvera 120 Monochrome Press and VersantTM 80 Press with EFI Print Server.

The Business Challenge Digital Print Australia undertook extensive due diligence, taking almost 12 months to investigate the alternatives and decide on a digital press successor to the iGen4. As always, they were looking for the leading edge of quality with reliability, but were also mindful of retaining the value already established in the deep supplier relationship with FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia.

Steve and Karen recognise that a critical factor in their ongoing leadership in the printing world is the depth and longevity of professional relationships with their key equipment providers.

To remain leaders in the field, Steve readily acknowledges the vital role of

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

d muscle car, while the orts car.

the supplier relationship. “We have been a client of FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia for over two decades now and have come to respect the efforts of the staff we deal with as being honest, helpful and friendly.”

Because the business needed to uphold and indeed build on its reputation for fine photography and book publishing, there was no room to make the wrong choice. Staying competitive in what is essentially a global marketplace means significant investment and a high risk of market losses if the new press had failed to live up to expectations.

Digital Print Australia’s longstanding strategy to be early adopters of new technology and equipment has paid dividends – they were the second business in Australia to purchase the iGen4. They were also the first in South Australia to replace their iGen4 with the IridesseTM Production Press. They continue to compete confidently in a cut-throat online market, knowing that the superior quality of their products keeps old customers coming back, and new customers coming in through referrals and peer recommendations.

The Solution Digital Print Australia left a site visit in Melbourne after seeing the IridesseTM run through its paces, “convinced that there was probably not a better machine available at the time”. There were also no other digital presses offering

gold and silver inks in Adelaide. That clinched the deal.

Once the installation and initial training were completed, the Digital Print Australia team were instant fans. The generational change in technology, ease of operations, the speed of the press with an absence of jams and the quietness of the machinery particularly struck the press operators. And

experimenting with the vast creative possibilities that opened with the enlarged gamut of specialty colours – most recently, the Pink Dry Ink – is an ongoing delight for the designers, machine operators and of course, the customers. “With the IridesseTM, digital is now as good as offset”, claims Steve, “and we can nail Orange, without an extra colour pass!”

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The GX server on the IridesseTM makes programming intuitive as never before. It is now Digital Print Australia’s preferred RIP due to its extensive feature set, consistency, and reliability.

Soon after bedding down the new press, Digital Print Australia technical gurus David Dobson and Steve Kounnas, with FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia’s dedicated analyst, put their heads together to innovate and customise the RIP, further streamlining the process. The supporting analyst helped set up job templates and hot folders and modified the code to create more job templates bespoke to Digital Print Australia.

Digital Print Australia appreciates the value of FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia’s regular touchpoints through all departments.

These include longstanding relationships with their Account Manager of 11 years and counting, and the experienced technical team who bring fast, reliable support whenever it’s needed, even at odd hours.

Digital Print Australia is a member of the FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia Partner Excellence Program (PEP) and has used the relationships built with technical experts and analysts to fully exploit every feature of their equipment to benefit their customers.

David Dobson, Print Room Manager, compares the former and current presses – “The iGen4 was like an old muscle car, while the IridesseTM is like a new sports car. The iGen4 was superb in its time, and now we’re loving the results of the Iridesse’sTM features like underlay inks, full metallics and the

extra gamut of colours and finishes.

At the same time, its simplicity and reliability have allowed us to practically double our output – certainly makes our jobs easier!”

Business Benefit – Digital Print Australia can offer its clients the latest innovations in digital printing.

“We were genuinely thrilled with the quality it produced, the feedback from our client base and, obviously, our ability to provide the metallic options,” commented Steve.

With the IridesseTM, Digital Print Australia could differentiate itself in the market with CMYK+ bespoke printing.

Digital Print Australia has been able to confidently revisit their entire client base, knowing that they have a better service than many of their competitors.

And further, being able to offer new clients improved options and service because of the superior features of the IridesseTM has everyone excited.

Business Benefit – Digital Print Australia uses the increased capacity to enter new markets and build new product ranges.

The IridesseTM Production Press has opened doors to new product offerings, as Digital Print Australia have diversified their print options. They’re now reaping that return on investment, experiencing interest and growth in new areas of print. Wine label clients, in particular, have embraced the metallic capabilities enthusiastically.

For the first time, Digital Print Australia is producing food packaging using the specialty dry inks. Steve noted, “The increase in the dynamic range has been amazing and our staff have produced

some excellent promotional material to help us circulate the possibilities to existing and potential clients.”

Business Benefit – Demonstrating industry leadership; Digital Print Australia regularly wins awards.

Industry recognition through national awards have proven to be a solid upselling tool, as peer recognition is a powerful purchasing motivator for their clients. Digital Print Australia really shines when it comes to pitting itself against the best in the business.

Over the last few years, they’ve won numerous PIXI awards and recently won the Innovation Print Awards (IPA) 2020 in the ‘books’ category.

They also took out a winning spot in the FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia Design Competition in 2019, using their win to demonstrate their six colour print capabilities to new and existing clients.

What’s Ahead Digital Print Australia is excited for the future, knowing that they can deliver outstanding service with their stable of FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia equipment and experienced, creative staff who take pride in their work.

Reflecting on their 48-year journey, Steve and Karen, backed by their long-serving team, count it a privilege to have been part of the exciting evolutionary jumps in the industry.

With a comparatively sluggish start, the industry has leapfrogged every year since the 1980s with the era of desktop publishing, digitisation and automation.

Now enjoying the IridesseTM, Steve “can’t imagine what can be better”. He does believe that printing will continue however, because people still prefer reading a beautifully-crafted book as opposed to a tablet”.

https://www.fujifilm.com/fbglobal/eng

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS REVORIA PRESS™

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REVORIA PRESS™ PC1120 Experience a world of infinite colour beyond CMYK, driven by AI-powered possibilities.

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Click the button on the right to explore our wide range

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of print solutions from FUJIFILM Business Innovation.

FUJIFILM and FUJIFILM logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of FUJFILM Corporation. Revoria is registered trademark of FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Cooking up a storm cookbooks and prin The international cookbook market is picking up speed again after the boom in 2016/2017 and the subsequent dip in 2018. For publishers, it is all about accompanying the current social change, which is also reflected in lifestyle and nutrition topics.

In this environment – additionally promoted by the Corona pandemic, during which people are increasingly eating at home – cookbooks are far more than just a collection of recipes between two book covers. Rather, they are a source of inspiration for sustainable and healthy living.

Nutrition that is good for people and at the same time protects the earth is also a major topic on the international book market this year. This is a good thing, because the culinary segment has lacked a clear trend in recent years, following the boom phase for vegan food.

In the wake of the climate debate, a new vegan-vegetarian wave is rolling over the cookbook market – albeit under different auspices and with different authors. The level of new publications in Germany, for example, has returned to the level of around 1700 new publications before the boom six years ago. Cookbooks range from simple kitchen guides to collectible or coffeetable books.

Accompanying social change Many young people who get involved rethink their everyday lives, give up meat and carry these impulses into their families. This calls for good

cookbooks and guidebooks that are above all suitable for everyday use. For publishers, this is about accompanying the social change that is also reflected in lifestyle and nutrition topics.

"Cooking is reinventing itself right now.

Consumers want to live and eat more consciously – and that's exactly why they need good guidance," emphasizes Hanni Rützler, nutritionist and expert on food trends.

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m with nt

Digital personalised cookbooks are set to boom over the coming years

In the course of the Corona crisis in addition, topics such as “regionality”, “self-making” and “preservation of food” move again into the focus, are convinced the publisher Hubert Krenn, which markets cook books and counsellors for many years very successfully.

The cookbook as Collector's Edition In the current environment, publishers have the opportunity to further differentiate the above-mentioned topics and thus address the most diverse target groups. Green cuisine has long since arrived in the mainstream.

Stefanie Neuhart, program manager of Kochen & Geniessen at Brandstätter, Vienna & Munich, also sees it that way.

The publisher's longsellers include, for example, Katharina Seiser's cookbook "Immer schon vegan" from 2015, which has taken a second upswing in 2019.

The publisher celebrated the 25,000 copies sold with a "Golden Edition" with a yellow color cut, ribbon bookmark, recipe postcard, cloth bag and a limited edition of 999 signed and numbered copies. The cookbook as a "Collector's Edition" as in the art book market – a clever marketing idea.

With or without meat. At any rate, cookbooks are currently generating encouraging sales. That's good news for a segment that went through a difficult year in 2018.

The low price segment in particular suffered. "For our program, the following applies more than ever: we don't have to follow every trend in cookbook development, but rather design our cookbooks with great attention to detail," Stefanie Neuhart summarizes Brandstätter's strategy.

Food blogs influence the market Another point that has a positive impact on the cookbook market is bloggers. Blogs and cookbooks crossfertilize each other, and passionate bloggers are incredibly book-savvy.

The volume of books is certainly due in part to the professionalization of food blogs. "Food blogs have had

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a huge impact on the market – for example, on topics such as aesthetics.

They are catalysts and multipliers, styleforming and enriching," notes Monika Schlitzer, managing director at Dorling Kindersley DK Verlag in Munich.

Publishing houses, which have the correct hand with Blogger cook books, can consider themselves lucky. Above all, if to a good content also still a good cross-linking of the author comes.

Among the lucky ones is Bluebird in Great Britain. The publisher was able to win over the two food bloggers Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone. Their book "Pinch of Nom" has sold over a million copies and was the best-selling book in the UK in 2019.

Publishers are firing each other up If you look at the development of the cookbook market in recent years, you can see that the quality of the content, photography, graphics and features of cookbooks has steadily increased.

Cookbooks offer graphic designers a broad creative field in which to combine special photographs designed by food designers with appealing typography and enticing graphic elements. Today, there are a number of publishers internationally that produce cookbooks

of the highest quality and with great attention to detail. These publishers are firing each other up – although this also comes at a price.

For production managers, this is no easy feat, balancing design demands with production budgets. The desire for unusual materials, binding methods and special finishes is increasing.

This is particularly important for cookbooks in order to convey a sensual theme appropriately. The basis for sophisticated production is laid throughout the entire process chain in prepress. In order to convey the topic of sustainability on a haptic level, uncoated papers are increasingly being used. With an appropriate volume, such papers also give the books a certain body.

Consumers want to live and eat more consciously – and that's exactly why they need good guidance.

Wide spectrum The decision in favor of certain features naturally depends heavily on the price segment and the target group. The spectrum ranges from simple kitchen guides to collector's or coffee-table books. Particularly in the case of high-quality cookbooks,

European publishers also like to use local production partners.

At the same time, publishers are moving away from placing individual orders and are instead combining several books into monthly packages in order to exploit economies of scale in production. Such scenarios also lend themselves to licensed productions, among other things. If this is taken into account at the conception and design stage, language changes can be managed very easily and unit costs reduced.

Cookbooks as storytellers The future of the market lies in carefully edited cookbooks with character that are more than just collections of recipes. Books that tell stories, emotionalize and open up worlds for their readers. The cookbook market has never been more colorful and diverse, but above all, the demand for quality and originality has risen enormously.

Printers and bookbinders are challenged to adapt to this development – the right tools for production are certainly available.

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Official distributor of Aleyant Pressero and eDocBuilder in Asia Pacific Aleyant announced the partnership of FUJIFILM Business Innovation Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. as an official distributor to distribute and support Aleyant Pressero and eDocBuilder across the Asia Pacific region This partnership agreement offers Aleyant the opportunity to extend its reach in the region, while FUJIFILM Business Innovation will be able to expand its portfolio of end-to-end graphic arts offerings with Aleyant’s popular scalable web-to-print and personalization solutions.

Aleyant Pressero is a B2B and B2C online storefront solution that also generate budgets, plan production and prepress workflows. Its open architecture allows users to connect with third party integrations. Aleyant eDocBuilder is the cloud-based online designer, document personalization and variable data publishing system that enables users to create and customize their own documents quickly and easily, as well as proof and approve them from a web browser.

“We were looking for a highly functional yet affordable solution for our customers in the Asia Pacific for webto-print services that could augment our existing portfolio,” said Scott Mackie, General Manager, Graphic Communication Business Group at FUJIFILM Business Innovation Asia Pacific. “Aleyant was the right choice as they have the capability to integrate with various third-party solutions for business, shipping and payment systems, as well as support for most of the languages and currencies globally. With Aleyant’s existing sales and technical support resources in the region, we are positioned to provide enhanced service and support to our customers in Asia Pacific.”

Scott pointed out that while growth in ecommerce has been ongoing, during the pandemic, use of ecommerce across most industries spiked, and continues to do so.

According to Statista, revenue generated by ecommerce in Asian markets is expected to show an annual growth rate of 6.95% through 2025, with an estimated 68.2% of users taking advantage of ecommerce services.

“To help our customers, especially the small-medium businesses (SMBs) to

Scott Mackie stay competitive and grow their profits in this digital age, we plan to expand our offerings to include the entire Aleyant suite, ranging from PrintJobManager to tFLOW automated prepress workflow and more,“ Scott added. “The ability to add modules to create an automated workflow as they grow in size and the easy incorporation of existing solutions into Aleyant’s open API allow customers to work more efficiently with an integrated workflow.

“We are pleased to formalize this important partnership with FUJIFILM Business Innovation in the Asia Pacific region,” said Trent Foreman, CEO of Aleyant. “While we already have several installations in the region, we expect the power and reach FUJIFILM Business Innovation brings to the partnership will spur even more growth, offer more options to customers, and help make printing and packaging businesses in the region more productive and profitable.”

To learn more about affordable graphic arts solutions from Aleyant, visit www. aleyant.com. For more information about products and services from FUJIFILM Business Innovation, visit https://fujifilm.com/fbglobal.

https://fujifilm.com/fbglobal.

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So you’re a QUALITY Printer then

T

be different

HINK BIG

SHOW ME!

If you Win in the Asian Print Awards then you can!

2022 ASIAN PRINT AWARDS

coming soon * This Year due to COVID-19 the 2020 Judging will be done in Australia with the Awards heldDetails in December in Asia

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EFI unveils new 5-metre VUTEk Q5r at Shanghai show At the Shanghai International Ad & Sign Technology and Equipment Exposition, EFI featured the worldwide debut of the new, 5-metre-wide EFI VUTEk Q5r LED roll-toroll printer.

EFI and its display graphics channel partner Changyin Technology (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, celebrated numerous new equipment sales.

Shanghai Kangda Penhua Co. Ltd, took home the printer from the show floor, adding the VUTEk Q5r to build its offering producing premium-quality graphics for retail, décor and other production applications.

Operating at speeds up to 672 square meters per hour, the VUTEk Q5r is EFI’s fastest roll-to-roll printer and brings important competitive advantages to Shanghai Kangda Penhua.

“I have been a loyal customer of EFI since 2012 and owned several EFI printers. To be a market leader, I am always on the look-out to invest in the latest, best-in-class printing technology.

I chose to invest in the VUTEk Q5r because I was impressed by its high speed and premium colour quality, and these are factors that will give me a competitive edge,” said Hao Sun, general manager of Shanghai Kangda Penhua Co. Ltd.

customers,” said Wenhao Fan, general manager of Shanghai BoEn Ad Co. Ltd. Other purchases made at the tradeshow include the sale of the EFI VUTEk h5 hybrid UV LED printer to Jiangsu Baicheng Digital Film Co., Ltd and LC Group. Ningbo Lixin Printing Co., Ltd additionally invested in a new EFI VUTEk 5r+ roll-to-roll printer.

“The International Ad & Sign Expo was the second in-person trade show EFI has participated in Shanghai since reopenings have begun. In a region of the world where doing business

in person is critical to building and maintaining relationships, we were gratified by the number of visitors to our stand and excited about the opportunity to refresh existing relationships and begin to build new ones.

The printing companies we were able to celebrate at this year’s show are more than ready to take advantage of new opportunities to grow their businesses by adopting leading-edge solutions,” said Rodd Harrison, vice president of sales, Asia Pacific, Electronics For Imaging.

Another company also committed to the new EFI VUTEk Q5r, Shanghai BoEn Ad Co. Ltd: “We are confident that the VUTEk Q5r will be a game changer which will boost our production efficiency and enable us to continue to provide high quality and value-added solutions to our

https://www.efi.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Panda Game Manufacturing to produce high-quality board games - Several Speedmaster presses in medium and large format in operation - Further expansion planned As a fascinating, challenging and cooperative entertainment method, board games are popular all over the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Canadian board game manufacturer Panda Game Manufacturing has risen rapidly and occupied a large part of the world board game market.

As a world renowned tabletop game manufacturer, Panda Game Manufacturing has been focusing on industry-leading component quality, customer service and support since it was founded 30 years ago. Customers range from award-winning publishers to independent game developers and the product spectrum from simple card games to sophisticated board games.

The main production facility is located in Shenzhen, China, where the printing, most of the production and quality control takes place.

In order to ensure the high-quality printing of its products, Panda has been

relying on Speedmaster XL technology from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), for example, several state-of-the-art Speedmaster XL 75 and Speedmaster XL 106 presses. The company also owns a full range of Heidelberg's prepress machine, Prinect Workflow and Polar Cutting System for finishing.

"Heidelberg is a strategic partner for us," said Lin Yifeng, General Manager of Panda Game Manufacturing (Shenzhen) Limited. "We rely on Heidelberg machines because they provide highest quality, high efficiency and superior productivity throughout the printing process. Thanks to the

Speedmaster fleet, we are able to execute our production orders with high quality, high stability and flexibility, and therefore meet our customers’ demands in an increasingly challenging market environment."

As board games is an everlasting industry with huge potential in China, the company intends to invest in Lufeng in Guangdong Province in the next two years and build the world's largest and most professional industrial park for board games there. "We will also rely on Heidelberg's support in this regard, especially in terms of state-of-the-art technology, integrated workflow and comprehensive services," says Mr. Lin.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Narendra Paruchuri, Director

Move from 40-inch to 37-inch: the right decision.

Pragati Offset, an integrated printer in Hyderabad, India, with a strong position in package printing, was established in 1962. The company is the preferred partner of many customers for their quality print requirements.

Pragati covers the full gamut of print needs — from company profiles to brochures and catalogues, coffee-table books to calendars, folding cartons and labels to luxury rigid cartons as well as point-of-sale materials. From being the best in Lakdi Ka Pul, a suburb of Hyderabad, to emerging as Hyderabad's best, Pragati Offset went on to become the most awarded printer in India.

The company has received numerous international awards, the crowning glory being the SAPPI International Printer of the Year awards won in 2006, 2008 and 2010. The credit for creating this great organization goes to none other than the founder of Pragati, the late Shri Hanumantha Rao. Now this third-generation organization is reshaping and modernizing by mobilizing the full power of automation. Narendra Paruchuri is a director of Pragati Offset Pvt. Ltd.

Narendra and his brother Mahendra Paruchuri represent the second generation of the company. Harsha Paruchuri, a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, joined the company in 2000.

His specialization is color management, which enables the company to print with predictable quality. In addition, Hemanth Paruchuri looks after the packaging division, and Swathi Paruchuri handles administration.

"Our philosophy consists of constantly evolving and relentlessly pursuing leading-edge quality. The approach of competing globally and using cuttingedge technologies to win the race puts us ahead of other printers. And this helps us grow our business," says Narendra.

A chemical engineer with a focus on growth and a commitment to supporting his colleagues, Narendra

evolved from publishing to commercial and then the packaging division. He always gives priority to technology, as he believes it is critical to the success of any business. Investing in the right technology assures a bright future in print.

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

26 such as sheet thickness, register is automatically checked and corrected.

Makeready is lightning fast. Plus, with the same space, same power and same number of people, we are producing more. So, moving to the Lithrone G37 was the right decision," he adds.

Pragati's added advantages: compact, high print quality and high productivity Narendra explains that the press gives Pragati significant advantages: "The Lithrone G37 is equipped to handle all stock thicknesses from 0.4 to 0.8 mm and perform quick turnarounds.

Using the same machine, Pragati can now meet all of its packaging and commercial print requirements. With the recent increase in small-lot package jobs, the 37-inch format has significant advantages. This press is capable of multi-color, high quality printing and delivers high efficiency in terms of running costs, plates, power and space.

Journey of growth with Komori for more than 30 years "Pragati started its Komori journey in 1988. That is when we bought our first Komori press -- a five-color Lithrone 26. We went on to buy many more over the years. Currently, we have 12 Komori machines in our factory.

"After using Komori machines for 33 years, we have expanded to become the best, and we will continuously strive to retain this position by adopting the most advanced technologies available," says Narendra.

Move from 40-inch to 37-inch: the right decision "One of our presses -- a four-color 40-inch machine with coater -- was aging and we wanted to replace it. We decided to invest in a new press. After looking at our job profile and analyzing historical data from our SAP ERP system, we came to the conclusion that a 37-inch press would best meet our needs. Moreover, the six-color Lithrone G37 would fit in the same space as the machine it was replacing and had similar power requirements.

Delivery of the machine was delayed due to the pandemic. However, it arrived in good shape, and Komori India engineers did a fantastic job of putting it together. We are very happy with the press's performance and automation. In addition to presets

These were definitely key points that won us over to the Lithrone G37. This press incorporates all of Komori's advanced technologies to increase productivity and provide compatibility with global standards for print convertors. It is equipped with KHS-AI (Advanced Interface), a system that offers self-monitoring to reduce waste, sends advance alerts for preventive maintenance, executes remote diagnostics, and enables selflearning."

The 37-inch press has added value to Pragati's packaging printing. The ease of operation and enhanced productivity meet the requirements for smooth, short turnarounds. The press's ability to maintain stability is important since heavy stocks with special substrates are used in short- and medium-run work, work that is continuously growing as a share of the market. Also, simultaneous pre-inking and quick wash-up for all colors in less than 10 minutes saves considerable time. This machine is equipped with a state-of-the-art color control system using PDC-SX. Pragati's experience drives choice of Komori It is important to understand how Narendra differentiates various printing machines. "All manufacturers' machines print well. No argument there. But the mean time between

failures (MTBF) has been the longest for Komori in our experience. Cost of ownership -- the machine and spare parts for a decade -- is very low. More important, this machine runs flawlessly, so we can keep our promises to our clients."

With its installation of a Lithrone 37, Pragati Offset introduced here runs the press for everything from smalllot packaging to commercial work.

Equipped with a range of the latest automatic functions, the Lithrone 37 is prized for labor-saving and high productivity. Komori will continue to maintain its excellent partnership with Pragati and to propose solutions that contribute to high profitability. We will also work to extend the results of these best practices throughout India and all of Asia.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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The perfect miX for the packag Color plays such an important role in the packaging industry. But, which are the main color challenges for brand owners to meet customers´ expectations? And, how can they be faced?

The perfect miX

Easy spot color management, optimization & exchange

Customer and brand owner surveys impressively show both - why accurate colors play such an important role in the packaging industry and also - which the main color challenges for brand owners are to meet customers´ expectations.

Even a quick look at some numbers highlight the power of color: Up to 85 % of customers´ first impression is based on color. The brand recognition is increased by color by up to 80 %.

Only a little percentage is fine with color that differentiates from the image they have in mind. (1) Color consistency = the key color challenge The key message is, that color consistency remains the main color challenge of brand owners, even for the real big global player. Decision-maker like Marc Hufschmied from PepsiCo concludes: “Consumers are very color sensitive, and have expectations around brand colors that need to be met consistently in a global marketplace “ (2).

Another brand owner points out the consequences if this is not considered: „Inconsistency puts doubts in the consumer´s mind and brings up concerns about the product inside“ (3).

New design trends even underline that, as minimalistic designs or widely used color gradients, strengthen the need for very accurate color reproduction.

Another important task for packaging companies is the efficient reproduction

Multicolor Printing (CMYK+X)

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Perfectly printed vivid, saturated images of color and the ability to shorten the time-to-market process of a product.

Brand owners agree, that nowadays packaging companies need to be agile and flexible in all steps of the supply chain like never before. There is no time for any detours, waiting times, or errors.

Manage the three P´s efficiently Especially for packaging printers spot colors are essential due to several reasons, but working with them causes often lots of challenges: - Process: Communicating spot colors is not that as easy as it may seem. As surveys show, many brand owner and their supply chain partner struggle with accurate color communication or need to handle inaccurate data which waste resources

Smart sof Color - Proofing: Many companies still need to work with expensive or inaccurate packaging proofs and mock-ups which slow down the decision-making process and the market entry of new products - Production: Production costs are high, packaging printers need to invest a lot of resources, waste time for a lot of ink changes, extended make-ready times, or need to deal with long delivery times – to mention just some implications of working with spot colors.

Suitable software solutions help to manage color easily and efficiently from artwork creation to delivery.

Standardized processes can be established which build a strong basis to rely on – even in a crisis – and help to avoid errors.

Correct color communication is not just of great importance for large brand owners – it is important for anyone

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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ging industry INGREDIENTS: CXF TOOLS

Proofing & prototyping production + small label series industry in improving the mentioned areas: - CXF TOOLS for easy brand color communication - The FLEX PACK system for the production of professional packaging proofs and prototypes - X GAMUT for perfect spot colors, printed with an extended fixed ink set - + our proofing paper and packaging substrates (MEDIA)

Packaging substrates for any kind of mock up

ftware solutions your process!

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in this supply chain and will lead to benefits and profit for all of them.

Digital colors One very crucial point is what we call the “true digitalization of color” as it is the fundament for successful color management today.

It does not only help to achieve consistent color management globally, but it also speeds up the time-tomarket of a product, improves stock management as well as data collection and evaluation.

Clear objective numbers help to achieve the aim another brand owner expresses: „We want printing to go from an art to science and to rely less on the influence of the operator“ (4).

How to achieve that?

There are three main products in our portfolio that support the packaging

The biggest driver to improve color consistency Besides the tools which help to communicate and exchange color easily through the entire supply chain with all partners and suppliers anywhere in the world (CXF TOOLS) and the system that allows you to produce color-accurate packaging proofs and prototypes easily and cost-effectively, X GAMUT gets a lot of attention in the industry. Why? A lot of brand owners say that extended gamut printing is the biggest driver to improve color consistency, production efficiency, and environmental impacts.

They are sure, that this approach ensures color matching of packaging worldwide, irrespective of the geographical location of the printing facilities or different ability of the press operators. And they go even beyond that: „I am convinced that moving away from spot colors – where you have thousands of inks on a shop floor

– will have a big impact on reducing cleaning time and on sustainability”, says Alvise Cavallari (Nestlé). And Cavallari continuous: “I believe that in future, ECG will become standard.” (5) The biggest driver to improve color consistency Besides the tools which help to communicate and exchange color easily through the entire supply chain with all partners and suppliers anywhere in the world (CXF TOOLS) and the system that allows you to produce color-accurate packaging proofs and prototypes easily and cost-effectively, X GAMUT gets a lot of attention in the industry. Why? A lot of brand owners say that extended gamut printing is the biggest driver to improve color consistency, production efficiency, and environmental impacts.

They are sure, that this approach ensures color matching of packaging worldwide, irrespective of the geographical location of the printing facilities or different ability of the press operators. And they go even beyond that: „I am convinced that moving away from spot colors – where you have thousands of inks on a shop floor – will have a big impact on reducing cleaning time and on sustainability”, says Alvise Cavallari (Nestlé). And Cavallari continuous: “I believe that in future, ECG will become standard.” (5)

https://packagingeurope.com/digitalization-color-in-packaging-bright-future/

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"Create a well-known brand and be a centuryold company" This is the goal that Guangdong Yadu Packaging and Printing Co., Ltd. has been pursuing.

Situated in the Industrial Park of Jiexi County, Guangdong Province, the company was founded in 1989, after more than 30 years of steady development, it is currently the largest and fully equipped packaging and printing enterprise in eastern Guangdong. It has a modern plant with a construction area of more than 30000 square meters and advanced packaging and printing technology. It mainly provides high-quality packaging boxes and colour packaging cartons for various industries in Guangdong Province.

In its modern plant, a new ROLAND 900 five colour with 6B1 format will be soon installed, as Guangdong Yadu has recently partnered with Manroland for the first time by the introduction of this brand-new press.

According to the introduction of Mr. Chao Lin, the company’s General Manager Guangdong Yadu advocates

the enterprise spirit of "Unity, Trust, Improvement, Innovation". Adhering to the service principle of "customercentric ", and the professional concept of "Use colour to convey the minds of customers, Increasing product values by packaging”, the company keeps innovating its packaging printing technology and providing the customers with high value added packaging products and services. “With focus on paper product packaging, our company's vision is to establish the company into a leading packaging printer in Guangdong Province and our nationally renowned brand name," Mr. Lin emphasized.

"To realize the company's vision, we have to adopt the world advanced packaging printing technology. Without the support of strong packaging printing technology, it is just like talking about the armchair strategy. I am very grateful to Manroland for providing us with the tailor-made solution after fully

understanding our company's actual needs, which is especially suitable for us to improve the packaging and printing products of various enterprises", Mr. Lin continued.

A high degree of colour consistency is extremely important in packaging printing. The ROLAND 900 adopts a large number of cutting-edge automation technologies and shares the unique advantages in innovation, productivity and premium quality of the press, especially in terms of colour stability and consistency.

Guangdong yadu has a modern factory building with a construction area of more than 30,000 square meters and the world's advanced packaging and printing technology.

Mr. Lin believes that the introduction of ROLAND 900 will greatly support Guangdong Yadu in reaching its goal of "create a well-known brand and be a century-old company".

https://www.heidelberg.com/global/en/

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Korn it Digital

bonding

matters

Kornit Digital Asia Pacific

www.kornit.com #simpleprintingproduction #sustainablefashion #wearyourcare Enquiry: apac@kornit.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Ye Sung installs Koenig folder gluer to increase o South Korean packaging supplier, Ye Sung Corp., installed the Allpro 70 folder-gluer. It was put into operation in March.

The new machine contributes to faster turnaround times for individual jobs, and ensures that work processes proceed without problems despite the limited space available.

The Allpro 70 is flexible in terms of the substrates that can be used. An extensive range of tailored equipment options also allows it to handle an

exceptionally broad variety of different folding carton designs. Applicationoriented solutions and functions, along with belt speeds of up to 400 m/min, provide for fast makeready and high productivity.

Ye Sung experienced a production output increase of more than 30%.

Overtime could be reduced, and employee satisfaction rose in equal measure as weekend shifts become a thing of the past.

“The additional folder-gluer line has made us better able to group similar carton designs and sizes on individual machines, which saves makeready time and boosts production output.” Work processes have been streamlined to a considerable extent, and the lead time from confirmation of an order through to shipping of the processed products is now also shorter,” said Jaewan Kim, CEO of Ye Sung.

Since being founded in 2008, Ye Sung has grown to become a highly specialised packaging supplier, whose principal customers are small to midsize companies that are active in a wide range of market segments, along with major players from the pharmaceuticals industry.

Jaewan Kim, CEO of Ye Sung, is especially pleased with the increased outputs made possible by the Allpro 70

A broad spectrum of different folding cartons is produced, including ones for medicines and beauty products, dietary supplements, cosmetics and foods. They frequently include some very complicated designs that push the processing equipment to its limits.

South Korean employees work longer

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

& Bauer output

hours than their counterparts in most other OECD member nations.

However, following labour law amendments that came into effect on 1 July 2021, a maximum working time of 52 hours per week now applies in all companies with five or more employees. In order to keep the performance of the operation at a high level, Yesung put the Allpro 70 folder-gluer into operation in March.

The new machine contributes to faster turnaround times for individual jobs, and ensures that work processes proceed without problems despite the limited space available.

Of course, word of such an investment gets around quickly. Since commissioning the Allpro 70, Ye Sung has attracted a whole series of new orders.

After just a few weeks of use, production output at Ye Sung increased by more than 30 per cent thanks to the new machine. Overtime could be reduced, and employee satisfaction rose in equal measure. Weekend shifts have become a thing of the past.

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Case Study.......

Omnicell increases pharmaceutical blister packaging production To ramp up production to meet the demands of the medicine packaging market, Omnicell began searching for a new flexo press solution for their St. Petersburg, FL location. Specializing in high volume blister packaging, Omnicell produces various single and multi-pill packaging products for use in their autonomous pharmacy machines.

Chris Hayes, Manufacturing Engineer and leader of the press initiative, together with the Omnicell board, had one key goal in mind: increase productivity while maintaining the Omnicell quality standards.

The equipment needed to produce at top speeds for heat seal card applications and cold seal card applications.

After rigorous OEM testing and evaluation, Omnicell made the decision to purchase an MPS EXL-Packaging 680 flexo press to achieve their goal of increased production. Omnicell’s MPS EXL-Packaging press is equipped to produce complex blister packaging in a single pass. It includes several OEM niche equipment including hot air dryers, automatic unwinders, inspection technology and a stacker.

The Omnicell press marks a record length built for MPS, with an astonishing 118 feet / 36 metres of length.

Higher productivity with MPS Manufactured for blister packaging production, up to widths of 26”, the EXL-Packaging press produces at speeds of over 500 ft/min and “can do anything and everything that all other presses at the facility can do, combined.” Chris continues “It prints better, has quicker changeovers, is fully automated, modular and easy to maintain. Our MPS press is incredible.”

According to Chris, the MPS EXLPackaging press not only meets, but exceeds all expectations, and has become a valuable asset to their St. Petersburg operations.

Training for high speed printing Initially, operators were hesitant to run their new MPS press at top speeds, having never encountered a press perform well at those speeds. “The speed is almost intimidating,” Chris mentions, “but after MPS Field Service Engineer proved the press can run at record speeds for the long run, with no complications; he trained our operators to do the same and we began hitting our production goals easily thanks to him and the MPS Service team.”

Connected for remote service Additionally, the MPS EXL-Packaging press was equipped with Connectivity solutions, connecting their machine directly to the MPS Service Team.

Chris states, “having the ability for MPS technicians to login and provide remote support, software updates, troubleshooting etc. directly to our machine has been phenomenal.”

The press partner for success With the new MPS EXL-Packaging 680 press solution, Omnicell is equipped and eager to handle the increasing demands of the pharma packaging market for years to come.

“I’d recommend MPS to any converter looking to increase capacity. Their press technology, service and the whole MPS experience has been incredible.

Watching the speed of the machine, the quality of the print and witnessing the variety of applications possible, I know we made the right choice choosing MPS as our press partner.”

About Omnicell Founded in 1992, Omnicell began with a vision to innovate the management of pharmacy supplies and medication to improve the standard of care at hospitals and pharmacies around the world. Through the innovation of autonomous pharmacies and functional pharma packaging, Omnicell has become a world leader in medication packaging and management. Specializing in high volume blister packaging, Omnicell produces various single and multi-pill packaging products for use in their autonomous pharmacy machines.

https://www.mps4u.com.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Connect to Grow Unleash your printing potential Connect to Grow. That is your key to stay ahead in a demanding market. By connecting with MPSConnect, you ensure the best in reliability and productivity from your printing press. You will increase competitive advantages and maximize profits.

With MPSConnect we see recurring annual cost savings

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operator activities. You dive into the printing press and see exactly what’s happening.

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Innovation essential for fu Covid cuts worldwide sale The global market for commercial print and finishing equipment will reach $15.9 billion in 2021, despite seeing a recovery from the disruption caused

by Covid, the outlook of the market remains challenging through to 2026.

This will place a premium on new technologies, value-adding systems and services, and greater automation, as print OEMs look to maintain profitability.

Data from the new Smithers report – The Future of Print Equipment to 2026 – show sales values fell from $17.3 billion in 2019 to $13.2 billion in 2020. Its expert forecasting finds that in the post-Covid world sales value will struggle to recover to this prepandemic level after this initial rebound in 2021. The market will be essential flat, with a -0.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for 2021-2026 at constant prices.

Across 2021-2026 the largest growth market for equipment sales will be

in Asia, especially India and China.

Demand will decline in both Western and Eastern Europe. North and Latin America will also see moderate rises in equipment sales by value over the period, of close to 1.0% CAGR. The seismic impact of 2020 is being felt in all technology sectors and geographic markets, but not equally.

Smithers’ analysis shows that there will be few segments that will continue to expand through the 2020s as the buyers and print service suppliers adjust to a business environment reshaped by the experience of the pandemic.

The most severe effect will be in sales of analogue platforms used in commercial print and publications, with some smaller print service providers pushed

out of business. These applications were already in decline with falling print volumes across the 2010s, now exacerbated by Covid. Smithers forecasts a -1.9% decline year-on-year for analogue equipment over the next 5 years.

Overall increased demand for packaging press and digital technology will largely balance out this market decline, however. Across the Smithers forecast period, the installed base of digital presses will grow overall, with electrophotographic presses adding particularly to the installed base. The installed base of inkjet presses is forecast to be essentially static between 2021 and 2026, as the removal of wideformat presses compensates for greater use of single-pass and sheet-fed units in packaging and other alternative applications.

A leading trend that has seen a marked acceleration in 2020 is the shift to shorter print runs, which is shifting the per unit print costs in favour of digital (inkjet and electrophotography) presses. Digital equipment is easier to integrate with e-commerce, web-toprint and print-on-demand service models, which are increasingly popular; and deliver value-adding variable data print. In the short-term many technology leaders are more focused on incremental improvements to existing platforms, until revenues recover.

Tighter budgets mean there will also be more pressure on OEMs to revise their ink pricing strategies.

Traditional analogue press builders are innovating in this space. On analogue presses automation in prepress, on-

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

uture print equipment as es by $4.0 billion

press plate making and automated wash up, is a priority, to boost operational effectiveness and maintain margins and profitability.

The cancellation of Drupa 2020, and a reduced attendance at Virtual Drupa 2021, has broken the industry’s reliance on this key event in the print calendar.

This is leading firms to investigate new online sales and marketing channels to engage with a global customer base and demonstrate their latest equipment.

This matches with the imperative to offer more direct remote service and support online as Covid restricts on-site visits. Though to 2026 these will remain highly effective and low-cost means for both problem-solving and preventative maintenance, with conventional technology now supplemented by mobile and augmented reality systems.

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Digital print in packaging set to grow in demand to 2026 New Smithers report show total value for digital print in packaging is expected to reach $21.1 billion in 2021.

Through 2020 and into 2021 inkjet and electrophotography printing has secured new markets in labels and packaging. Data from a new report shows total value for this will reach $21.1 billion in 2021, according to industry analysts, Smithers.

HP PageWide C500

This is in line with existing trends, as run lengths have decreased and print quality on inkjet presses has risen; but the market has received a specific boost from the Covid-19 pandemic.

2019-2020. This happened in a market space where globally total printed packaging volumes declined by -1.9%.

As normal supply and consumer purchasing patterns were disrupted, the utilisation of the installed base of digital presses rose to meet fluctuating demand from packaging buyers.

With other print segments badly hit

by Covid-19, packaging and labels are increasingly the focus for many print OEMs, with the latest digital technology promising to open new segments and print options for print service providers (PSPs).

Accordingly, print volumes for digital print in packaging rose by 20.8% across

Overall from 2021-2026 the sector will remain attractive with demand for digital printed packaging significantly outperforming the broader market.

Inkjet to lead demand Led by inkjet, digital’s share of the printed label and packaging market will increase from 4.4% by value in 2020 ($18.5 billion), to 7.2% ($35.9 billion) in 2026. This is equivalent to an 11.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for 2021-2026.

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Bobst’s Mouvent LB701-UV

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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Learn more

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

Heidelberg Versafire EP

40

Labels still account for the majority of digital output in 2021, worth $11.79 billion, but these will have a relatively low CAGR of 5.6% to 2026.

in drop size will also enhance inkjet’s use, down to 1pl for fine quality, or much larger for whites, solid colours, varnishes and embellishment effects.

will be to push electrophotography use more towards premium labels and niches in high-quality cartons and flexible packs.

Growth will be fastest in corrugated ($5.78 billion in 2021), closely followed by folding cartons ($2.31 billion). With both segments more than doubling their use of digital over the forecast period, their combined value will exceed digital label printing in 2026.

As the market expands, machines from larger OEMs will increasingly dominate the space, with fewer turnkey solutions and hybrid models being sold. More installations of sheetfed inkjet presses will help open larger format packaging work to digital print.

The analysis by Smithers tracks the technology advances that will underpin this transition across all major press formats and packaging substrates.

These are principally for inkjet systems.

Simultaneously inks will improve to allow use on a wider range of packaging substrates, there will be an increased use of water-based ink sets; while greater sales volumes will push the price per litre down. Print quality will continue to improve, supported by more paper substrates optimised for inkjet production; although analogue inks and toners will still outperform inkjet when using specialty inks, such as metallics.

Digital Print Solutions for Packaging The HP PageWide C500 is a digital post-print solution for corrugated packaging that utilises thermal inkjet technology. It reduces the cost of manufacturing boxes in scaled volume production, and provides offset print quality for a wide range of corrugated packaging applications on both coated and uncoated paper, with water-based inks, for low to high number of sheets.

Over the next five years, improvements will help make the process more costcompetitive, even on medium and long run commissions for folding cartons, corrugated, flexibles, and rigid plastics.

Further advances in printheads will boost both quality and speed. While printheads with a 1,200dpi native resolution and greyscale printing up to 200m per minute are standard today; it is forecast that by 2026, 2,400dpi units will be common and greyscale speeds will rise to 300m per minute. Variation

AstroNova’s QL-850

For colour toner presses, the main challenge will be competing against newer inkjet machines in labels, cartons and flexibles. The segment will be bolstered by its own new technology developments, such as HP Indigo’s LEPx technology; but the deeper trend

Powered by Memjet, AstroNova’s QL850 is a high performance, wide-format inkjet label printer designed. It features Natura food-safe inks, to deliver the highest levels of label durability and the flexibility to print a wide range of label shapes and sizes.

The Xeikon 3500 is a folding carton packaging press using dry toner technology. The wide web press is capable of producing output as wide as 20.3 inches (516 mm) with a resolution of 1200 dots per inch (dpi). It can print on a wide range of substrates without pre-coating/treatment. With no frame limitation, folding cartons can be run without concern for length restrictions.

Bobst’s Mouvent LB701-UV is a digital label press for short and medium run label jobs, offering printing speed of up to 70m/min, 1,200 x 1,200 DPI print quality. It has a wide colour gamut and can print with up to six colours plus optional white with 70 percent opacity, at 45m/min.

The Heidelberg Versafire EP is a highvolume, high-performance digital production printer. The Versafire is capable of printing on up to 24 pt. board, including preconverted material, and various types of synthetics, making it suitable for both the short run label and packaging markets.

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

Just like you.

As truly direct and dedicated printing technology specialists, we believe you should deal with your challenges in your very own way. That is why we offer a wider range of digital technologies for a wide range of applications. From wine labels to wall decoration; from toner to inkjet – how can we help you to make your business ready for the next turn? www.xeikon.com

Direct. Dedicated. Digital.

Xeikon_CorporateAdv_210x297_EN.indd 1

24/08/17 09:45

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Used in the food, healthcare and cosmetics markets, flexible packaging is a major part of a global packaging market valued somewhere between $120bn to $160bn depending on the research source.

Size estimates vary, but all agree that steady growth is expected. In 2018 the Flexible Packaging Association reported that flexible packaging was the second largest packaging segment in the U.S. garnering about 19% share of all packaging with sales of $31 bn. In 2020, market share remained consistent, but sales grew by about 12% reaching $34.8 bn for the year.

Growth continues despite environmental concerns and regulation.

Flex pack containers are made using a variety of substrates consisting of paper, plastic, aluminum foil, coated paper, film, or a combination of these materials. Environmental sustainability concerns are often raised due to plastic use in flexible packaging.

The EU introduced initiatives to reduce the use of plastics and other countries and organizations are becoming wary as well. Compound materials can reduce the amount of plastic, but still might need some as barrier material.

This environmental pressure will give rise to new substrates that avoid plastic altogether or minimize the use.

However, environmental concerns should be viewed in the context that

flexible packaging uses notably less plastic than a rigid plastic container alternative.

The trend toward shorter runs and more just-in-time or on-demand production is also driving growth. The desire to order on short notice and often to deliver direct to the consumer during the Corona virus pandemic has dramatically shifted packaging volumes and workflow. Manufacturers find their markets less predictable and need to react quicker.

Afinia FP-230, a desktop press for flexible packaging with a maximum media width of 230mm, using Memjet’s VersaPass® DN ink technology

With shifting consumer buying habits, commercial buyers want to keep less stock. Accelerated improvements in the package design and ordering workflow have facilitated a more agile market.

Web2Print shops make ordering packaging more efficient for short runs and enable even small companies to have their own packaging professionally printed.

What drives the choice of print process used in flexible packaging?

Most flexible packaging is produced

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on flexographic presses with a smaller share using gravure or a combination of processes. Neither of these processes are well suited to smaller volume production. Electrophotographic print has made the biggest inroads into flex pack so far. EP toner offers the quality, sufficient width and coverage ranges required for many types of flexible packages. With 31 m/min in 4 color mode the speed is noticeably slower than flexo presses and the speed drops further when using more colors.

Another barrier to entry when it comes to printing flexible packaging is food safety. UV ink can be a challenge due to the monomers included. This could be mitigated by barrier layers or varnishes, but brand owners often prefer to play it safe. Having aqueous inks that print and adhere well to the substrates is a challenge and requires more efforts in priming, inks, drying and handling but provides a more sustainable and safe food packaging product.

and printing with water (aqueous ink) on plastics is challenging. Additionally, the print technology needs to connect well to the subsequent finishing steps in laminating and pouch making. Finally, a large gamut is desirable and offering white can be especially critical.

Still, inkjet can bring high value and vendors are stepping up. Inkjet solutions broadly fall into two tiers: low to mid-range solutions and highvolume solutions. This article focuses primarily on the first tier.

Low to Mid-volume Inkjet Solutions Low to mid-volume solutions target more occasional uses, smaller packs and enable new, entrepreneurial types of users: such as companies with their own print and pack concept as a service or those offering web-to-pack sales of very short runs or offering sample and mock-up services. Devices in this category do not need to run 24/7 to fulfill their business purpose because the value added outweighs the potential unused press capacity. Footprint and prices are moderate for these devices

Inkjet is not new to flexible packaging, but until recently it has been limited to coding and marking. Adding variable information is an especially important consideration for those in the food industry, as they must display tracking codes, manufacturing and use-by dates as well as the potential for disclosure language that varies by location.

Full graphics inkjet printing has barely made inroads into flexible packaging.

Although flexible packaging is a huge market, the challenges are also big. UV inks are undesirable for food packaging

AstroNova’s T2-L is an industrial-grade, digital press for flexible packaging utilizing water-based inks along with inline cold lamination.

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44 AlphaFlex from V-Shapes the solution provides inline printing with its sixlane ALPHA packaging machine to enable packaging converters/fillers to accomplish the complete manufacturing process of V-Shapes’ unique single-dose sachets and provide full color branding on both sides of the sachet – in-line, on-demand and with the industry’s highest quality.

allowing entry to the market without heavy investments in equipment.

These presses all use Memjet technology and have a relatively small footprint with price points under half a million. It is interesting to see how the Memjet printheads and waterbased inks spawned such a variety of solutions in this category.

Afinia FP-230 ArrowJet Aqua 330R .

For the flexible packaging market, the ArrowJet 330R has an optional inline flexo station that can be used to varnish media immediately after printing. This helps create a barrier between the ink and the inside of the packaging to ensure that there is no contamination.

It also adds a protective layer to the print to ensure the quality is not compromised before it is converted into the final product.

High volume inkjet presses for flexible packaging allow multi-shift production. They should fit into many production environments where print and converting takes place today. You can find details on high volume inkjet presses for flexible packaging at Inkjet Insight. Recent research from Inkjet Insight found that 72% of customers who reported completing an inkjet integration project said it was a hybrid solution combining inkjet with another production process.

Another option includes PCMC’s Powered by Memjet inkjet printing system called, ION. It is a versatile solution adaptable to meet market

demands for new press builds with inkjet and flexography or it can be customized as an inkjet retrofit for a hybrid solution on most any press. The combination of PCMC’s experience in flexographic printing and Memjet’s DuraLink printhead and aqueous pigment ink technology provides a powerful and flexible solution for long and short run printing that can be configured from 8.5” up to 60” print widths.

Inkjet is entering the flexible packaging market from many directions at once and Memjet is helping many OEMs and integrators navigate the path.

High-volume Inkjet Solutions High-volume presses are aimed more at today’s flexo press users, although given the limited speed and higher ink costs compared to flexo, for now they will likely be a complement targeting lower runs rather than a straightforward flexo replacement. Since the market is moving to shorter runs, these capabilities are getting more important. So far, the short-run market is underserved as print service providers are not able to offer cost efficient short runs and in turn brand owners adapted their supply chain to long runs.

https://www.memjet.com

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RIGHT LABELS, RIGHT TIME, RIGHT COST.

New! VP500/550* DESKTOP COLOR LABEL PRINTER

Budget-friendly print solution for professional-quality labels designed for small to medium-size businesses and multi-location enterprises.

New! VP610/660* DESKTOP COLOR LABEL PRINTER

Streamline your labeling workflow and deliver up to 2,400 labels (4x6") in 10 min. with these new supercharged print solutions.

www.vipcolor.com

*VP550/VP660 provide enhanced water-resistant inks for chilled food and beverages and most moisture exposed product labels.

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Neuefeind unlocks the ful of Packaging Printers “I think flexo is both the most challenging industry, and the most rewarding. Neuefeind GmbH of Ochtendung, Germany, is a provider of technology services encompassing all aspects of the flexographic packaging process, far in excess merely of prepress and platemaking.

Neuefeind confirms that choosing the optimum DIGICAP NX surface pattern really can make all the difference. The company has its own selection strategy here, which was developed especially for this purpose and takes account of the press parameters.

FLEXCEL NX – more than simply more quality When asked where the advantages of the FLEXCEL NX Solution lie for printing on corrugated, Peter Schreier, Customer Service Director, mentions the example of a longstanding customer who does most of their business in the premium segment with coated top liners: “Our FLEXCEL NXC Plates were the catalyst for that client’s tremendous leap in press productivity because they permitted significantly longer cleaning intervals, even with fine screens of 150 to 175 lpi. The client is similarly excited about the plates’ printing results, notably in the highlights.”

Pixelperfektion

The family-run firm employs 20 specialists, and in terms of turnover its business divides into roughly 60% direct printing on corrugated board, 20% preprint corrugated and 20% flexible packaging.

Neuefeind operates a FLEXCEL NX Wide 5080 System from Miraclon, which allows flexo platemaking in formats of up to 1270 x 2032 mm.

Customers in various sectors of the packaging printing industry profit not only from the higher print quality that comes from production with FLEXCEL NX Plates but also from improved efficiency, productivity and stability on press.

Depending on the job and the printing application, Neuefeind can supply both press-ready FLEXCEL NXC Plates for printing on corrugated and FLEXCEL NXH Plates in different thicknesses for other uses. According to Sven Neuefeind, Technical Director and Quality Management Officer, customer feedback regarding the FLEXCEL NX Plates is invariably positive, and indeed many clients are reluctant to accept anything else. DIGICAP NX Patterning, which enables maximum control and stable ink transfer in combination with Advanced Edge Definition (AED), is decisive criterion when it comes to getting the most out of the FLEXCEL NX Plates.

Numerous customers in the corrugated sector have testified to the FLEXCEL NX Plate technology’s other positive effects – the higher ink densities and better opacity on coated top liners, the improved ink laydown during overprinting (e.g. type on background, particularly with metallic inks) and the option that is opened up thanks to the different DIGICAP NX surface patterns of selectively controlling the ink volume transferred on presses with only one set of anilox rollers but corrugated print jobs with varying types of top liner.

Peter Schreier cites an example from the flexible packaging segment: “By

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ll potential for the benefit Paper napkin job

switching to FLEXCEL NX Plates, our customer realized a double-digit increase in productivity on an older press model. Plate cleaning intervals have been all but eliminated, even during temporary print stoppages. We also found on-press behavior to be very stable in the highlights, which is good for print quality.”

on FLEXCEL NX Plates such that no tonal breaks or ink build-up was visible.”

FLEXCEL NX’s capabilities have repeatedly helped Neuefeind win orders for flexo from other printing processes, for instance from digital as illustrated by a recent example at a paper napkin production plant. “The customer wanted a subject to be printed in digital-like quality. The challenge was that the image to be printed consisted simply of multicolored rings with gradients approaching a tonal value of 0%.

Forward-looking partner to packaging printers Neuefeind GmbH was founded in

The whole thing was rendered even more difficult by the fact that, owing to the press configuration, it was not possible to exchange the anilox rollers in order to adjust the pickup volume,” Peter Schreier explains.

“However, by applying our specific NX strategy, we managed to print the subject using Maxtone hybrid screening

All of this is clear evidence that Miraclon’s KODAK FLEXCEL NX Solution has developed into an indispensable production tool for Neuefeind.

1993 by Dieter Neuefeind, who is still Managing Director to this day. Over the decades, the business has evolved from a small, craft-based specialist to a technology-oriented service provider with four separate divisions: Neuefeind Prepress covers prepress, data organization and platemaking while Neuefeind Support assists users with all printing-related matters, Neuefeind Academy caters for the printing and marketing sector’s growing demand for customized training and Neuefeind Innovation focuses on future issues relevant for the printing and packaging trade, the aim being to formulate suitable solution strategies for the company and its clients.

Neuefeind has several industry certifications, including a quality management system certified to DIN EN ISO 9001. Miraclon certification as a Certified Partner for KODAK FLEXCEL NX Plates is likewise planned for later this year.

Peter Schreier and Sven Neuefeind

https://www.miraclon.com

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https://www.mps4u.com

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Switches offset work to digital The German printer cites affordability, water-based inks and sustainability as key factors in its investment in the B2 inkjet press.

Based in the German district of Emsland, lower Saxony, Goldschmidt is a third-generation family company that prints a wide variety of applications.

From brochures, books and calendars to business cards, direct mail and large format – Goldschmidt has been a leader in print for over 70 years. In recent times, the company has worked to adapt to the increase in demand for personalised print and in May 2021, it celebrated the arrival of Fujifilm’s Jet Press 750S.

Fujifilm’s Jet Press 750S answered the call. “In 2019 we were looking at B2 inkjet presses,” continues Vera. “I had noticed a B2 inkjet comparison article in a magazine and spotted the Jet Press – its statistics immediately jumped out at me. I watched some videos online of the machine, noticed the quality of the print and decided to take a closer look.

“We looked at other B2 inkjet presses around the same time, but it was clear to us that the Jet Press was the best solution. Not only was the pricing

offered superior quality and was so much more affordable to run.

“News of our investment has also got round to our customer base. In fact, we’ve recently been speaking to companies in the arts and exhibition industries who are interested in receiving high quality catalogues printed on the Jet Press.

“The machine will form a crucial part of our business expansion. We have recent moved into new premises in Werlte – it’s a more modern facility, so the Jet Press will fit right in with what we do there.”

Vera also has glowing praise for the Fujifilm team: “They are a very pleasant group to work with. They are always available and very helpful, to the extent that we look at them as a partner rather than a supplier.”

“Our business offering is incredibly diverse,” says company CEO, Vera Goldschmidt. “We offer print solutions for a wide variety of markets and we have noticed a big increase in the number of requests for personalised print from our customers, and short run print more generally. In fact, this has been a growing trend in the last few years and we have restructured our business to adapt accordingly. Three years ago we made changes to enable us to anticipate these growth trends, rather than react to them.”

To help the company stay true to its aims, Goldschmidt has looked to invest in print technology that offers high quality and reliability, while also supporting its sustainability goals. In May 2021,

structure inviting and the print quality excellent, but the water-based inks and sustainability credentials were also important to our decision. We are heavily focussed on our carbon footprint and the impact print can have on the environment – it’s very important to our customers too – so when we saw the environmental benefits of the Jet Press, it was an easy decision for us.”

The Jet Press 750S was installed in May 2021, with Goldschmidt utilising it primarily for brochure, book and calendar printing – taking work off other equipment in the process. “In terms of B1 format printing, we did have an offset press for that, but we sold it after we found the Jet Press

Taro Aoki, head of digital press solutions at Fujifilm Graphic Systems Europe says: “Goldschmidt is a prestigious business with a proud history in print. It relies heavily on its equipment to provide its customers with the highest quality solutions and we’re delighted that they’ve seen early success with the Jet Press. Personalised print is becoming increasingly prevalent and we’re looking forward to seeing what innovations they create moving forwards.”

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19 – 22 October 2022

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Cadbury Dairy Milk blocks' transition to recycled packaging Amcor, the global leader in consumer packaging, is supporting Mondelez International to showcase the potential of recycled soft plastic packaging in a range of Australia's favourite Cadbury chocolate blocks, in a world first for the chocolate brand.

Amcor is locally producing the new packaging for the iconic Aussie chocolate blocks, with the recycled plastic material sourced by Mondelez’s partner Taghleef Industries, equating to about 30 per cent of the required plastics needed to wrap these products.

Cadbury fans won’t notice a difference in the look and feel of the recycled plastic, with Amcor providing the finished packaging material in the iconic Cadbury purple consumers know and love.

The recycled plastic material will be used in Cadbury Dairy Milk family blocks range with the first include recycled soft plastic in its packaging will be available in Australian supermarkets from September 2022.

Simon Roy, Vice President and General Manager, Amcor Flexibles Australia & New Zealand said that Amcor was proud to be part of the solution, supporting the development

of new technologies to help deliver local sustainable packaging.“Our goal is to create safe, strong and secure packaging solutions partnering with our customers to help meet consumer needs. Reaffirming our commitment to ensuring all our packaging is designed to be recyclable or reusable by 2025.”

Darren O’Brien, Mondelez International President for Australia, New Zealand and Japan, said the company’s investment in this emerging technology was a reflection of the increased focus on waste and expectation for brands to lead sustainability solutions.

“Not only is this a world first for Cadbury, but Cadbury in Australia will be amongst the first anywhere in the world to buy recycled soft plastic packaging. We’re setting new ground in finding solutions to the global challenges presented by packaging waste."

The move was welcomed by Trevor Evans, the Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management commenting the Australian Government is driving a $1 billion transformation of Australia’s waste and recycling industry so that Australia takes care of its own waste and makes the most of our precious natural resources by recycling and remanufacturing them into valuable new products.

“In addition, the 2025 National Packaging Targets are propelling industry action to achieve 20 per cent average recycled content in plastic packaging by 2025. The result is that industry leaders across the global plastics supply chain, including Mondelez International, are increasing the percentage of recycled content in their plastic products and packaging."

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52 reliability and low maintenance costs for a competitive total cost of ownership.

It has an innovative, low-maintenance, continuous recirculation ink system equipped with a level sensor and degassing as well as a printhead crash protective system for longer printhead life and superior uptime. It can produce up to 125 linear metres per hour with a printing resolution up to 600x1200 dpi.

China company makes record breaking RMGT sheetfed press order RMGT (formerly Ryobi) has secured its largest order for printing presses from Yintong Corporation in China.

The order of 56 sheet fed presses comprise of 338 printing units.

RMGT stated that this is “its largest ever order for printing presses, and one of the most extensive orders placed with any supplier”.The presses ordered consists of primarily RMGT 920 series of sheet fed presses, including one 8-colour perfector, twenty four 920 9-colour presses and ten RMGT 920 4-colour presses.

In addition there are ten RMGT 970 4-colour presses, ten RMGT 970 5-colour presses, and one larger format RMGT 970 8-colour perfector with LED-UV. The RMGT 970 model was launched in mid-2020.

Yintong is a web to print company.

With the purchase, Yintong hopes to move closer to its goal of being the number one online printer in China.

The presses will be delivered and installed over the next three years at a number of sites across China.

The purchase was signed at China Print 2021 with RMGT’s distributor in the country, Dinga. In order to keep to timelines and ensure other customers are not neglected, RMGT has recruited additional staff.

EFI launches entry-level Blaze textile digital printer At the Shanghai tradeshow, ITMA Asia, EFI Reggiani unveiled the new Blaze scanning printer for textile

printing. The printer is described as an industrial, entry-level smart solution to help “textile companies blaze their successful trail into the world of efficient, sustainable industrial inkjet printing”.

The launch of Blaze is the first in a series of 2021 product introductions coming from EFI Reggiani. In July, a higher-volume EFI Reggiani HYPER is expected to debut.

“Despite the impact of the pandemic, EFI Reggiani has continued to invest and develop the next trailblazing technology for the textile market,” said EFI Reggiani Senior Vice President and General Manager Adele Genoni.

“Our customers are our number one priority no matter how small or big they are. With the EFI Reggiani BLAZE, we are able to offer an ideal solution for companies that want to enter the industrial textile digital printing space. We are excited to be able to offer such a solution and look forward to embarking on this journey with our customers.”

The 1.8-meter wide printer EFI Reggiani BLAZE printer is a compact solution equipped with printhead

• The printer has eight 300-dpi dual channel printheads and can print in up to eight colours with full variable drop size.

EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver enhancement EFI has also released an enhanced version of the EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver printer, a 1.8-metre wide printer operating with EFI Reggiani’s TERRA pigment ink with binder solution for high-quality, highly sustainable, directto-textile printing without steaming or washing.

The new-version is equipped with features such as a new recirculating ink system, real-time image processing, several printing modes, and a moreefficient polymerization process.

At ITMA Asia, the company announced a new service provided to Chinese customers, offering EFI Reggiani AQUA water-based reactive inks that it is now manufacturing in China. Designed to deliver outstanding quality on cotton, silk, viscose rayon, linen and lyocell, AQUA inks are ideal for producing home textile and fashion products with deep, intensive colours.

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

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54 Heidelberg sells DOCUFY software subsidiary Heidelberg announced that it has sold the software provider DOCUFY GmbH to the investment company Elvaston Capital Management. With the sale, Heidelberg expects an EBITDA margin in a range of 7-7.5% for the full year 2021/22, raised from its previous forecast of 6-7%. The transaction is expected to result in a gain on disposal of more than 20 million Euro.

This is part of Heidelberg’s continued focus on its cloud-based digitization strategy in its core business. In December 2019, Heidelberg had bundled its own peripheral software activities at DOCUFY, which usefully complemented DOCUFY's existing portfolio.

This step will allow Heidelberg to further advance its unique positioning in cloud and data-based software and the corresponding range of different products and services tailored to customers in its core business.

"As part of our portfolio analysis and concentration on our core activities, we have come to the conclusion that DOCUFY's planned strategy for the future can be supported in a more targeted manner by a new partner.

We are focusing our software activities on the expansion of cloud-based applications and platforms for the printing industry," said Rainer Hundsdörfer, CEO of Heidelberg.

"We will use the funds freed up by the sale to drive forward strategic future investments on the path of our digital transformation."

DOCUFY provides software that develops and sells high-quality software products and solutions as well as consulting and implementation services, training, and SaaS services.

The DOCUFY Software Suite enables companies to optimize their processes, from the acquisition of information, to the processing and targeted distribution, to the application of the right information, and thus to contribute to the sustainable success of the company.

"We are looking forward to realizing our DOCUFY 2025 strategy with the help of Elvaston," said Stefan Donat, CEO of DOCUFY GmbH. "This will allow us to further expand our offering for our existing and future customers."

With around 120 employees, DOCUFY counts several major industrial companies among its customers and, like Heidelberg, will continue to support them in implementing their digitization strategies.

DOCUFY's new strategy, based on the expansion of the DOCUFY software suite into an Industry 4.0 InfoHub, the establishment of new strategic partnerships and the internationalization of business activities, has aroused great interest among customers and existing partners. The consistent realization of this approach is now ensured by Elvaston.

"We are continuing to systematically streamline our structures and focus the portfolio on the core growth areas.

This creates further financial scope for Heidelberg," said Chief Financial Officer Marcus A. Wassenberg.

"Together with the good order situation, we can raise the forecast for the current year despite increased material costs." www.docufy.de LitiHolo Introduces World’s First Desktop 3D Hologram Printer The idea of hologram printing has been in people’s minds for a long time, and to this day researchers and companies are making advances in the field, trying to get closer to the ideal hologram print. The latest progress comes from the company LitiHolo, as the business introduced the world’s first 3D hologram printer for people to use at home.

What has been a long time dream for many, could soon become normal for everybody. The ability for anyone around the world to print real threedimensional holograms at home or in an office is one step closer to becoming reality. LitiHolo, a global leader in hologram production and technology, unveiled its Desktop 3D Hologram Printer. Read on to find out more about the history of hologram printing and what the current advancements look like!

History of Hologram Printing Even though everybody has heard of them, holograms have remained out of reach for most people to make themselves or at home. Yet, the solution for improved 3D visualization could lead back to a 60-year-old technology reshaped for the digital world, namely holograms. Scientists

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CANON SINGAPORE PTE. LTD.

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56 dimensional holograms.

have wanted to make computergenerated holograms for a long time, but the process has usually required a supercomputer to churn through physics simulations, which is timeconsuming and can produce less-thanphotorealistic results. However, by now, the technology has made huge advances.

Initially developed in the mid-1900s, holograms used to be recorded optically. By splitting a laser beam, with half the beam used as a reference for the light waves’ phase and the other half employed to light the subject. This creates a hologram’s unique sense of depth. The subsequent images were stationary, which means they couldn’t capture motion. Furthermore, they were hard copy only, making them problematic to share and reproduce.

Computer-generated holography circumvents these challenges by simulating the optical setup. However as mentioned earlier, running the physics simulations takes time for every single hologram-image. One of the advances the technology has made is the switch from letting the supercomputers run the physics simulations to letting them teach physics to itself.

Scientists used deep learning to accelerate computer-generated holography, permitting real-time hologram creation. The team designed a neural network — a processing technique that uses a chain of trainable tensors to mimic how humans take in visual data. Developing a neural network requires a high-quality, large dataset, which didn’t formerly exist for 3D holograms.

They constructed a custom database of 4,000 pairs of computer-generated images. By learning from each image couple, the network adjusted the parameters of its own calculations, consecutively enhancing its capability to make holograms. The entirely optimized network worked through big hologram orders faster than physics-based calculations, making it much more efficient.

Holograms bring an extraordinary depiction of the 3D world around us, while looking astonishing at the same time. They offer a fluid perspective created by the viewer’s position, and they let the eye to regulate focal complexity to interchangeably focus on foreground and background.

Hologram Printing from Home LitiHolo produces hologram kits and they also manufacture a selection of holography film that enables hologram production without chemical usage.

Development of the Desktop 3D Hologram Printer is a great breakthrough in LitiHolo’s mission to make true hologram technology more accessible and affordable for the masses. The printer is designed to let users make their own holographic images from the comfort of their home, with the printer being only a little bigger than a regular home version.

The printer creates true holograms that can be viewed without glasses or headsets, providing a unique 3D experience that can effortlessly be viewed and shared with other people.

That means printer users can design everything from 3D computer graphics scenes to hologram portraits that can be seen as true three-

The printer takes multiple angle pictures, captured from video footage, a camera, or rendered from a typical 3D graphics design, and cuts them into unique recordings for each separate pixel on the hologram. This is called a “hogel” or “hologram element” and each hogel’s size is 0,03×0,03 inches (1×1 mm). The printer then etches that hogel data with modulated light onto the special hologram film, which is self-developed by the company, to create a bright and clear hologram.

In its completed version, the hologram recreates the numerous diverse viewpoints as if the 3D image is actually there. This gives the ability to look around the image to perceive different perspectives, even from underneath and above. Based on the viewing angle it can also seem like it is moving.

The final result is a somewhat pixelated image with a red overtone.

The printer can produce holograms up to 4×5 in (10.1×12.7 cm), with a 45-degree field of view. Due to the fact that up to 23 images per pixel can be encrypted, the holograms can present several seconds of motion as the viewer moves their head or tilts the image.

Usage and Future As LitiHolo mentions, this printer is not only designed to entertain people who want to 3D print holograms of videos or photos, as it is also useful to produce holograms from CAD designs, 3D art and 3D computer graphics. It has a wide variety of uses and all that’s needed is a computer and the printer.

“Holography has evolved a great deal in the 60 years since its introduction and we view our Desktop 3D Hologram Printer as an important next step in bringing this technology to the masses. For the first time, the power to create true holograms will be accessible to anyone with one of our printers, which opens up a whole new world of hologram possibilities,” said Paul Christie, LitiHolo CEO and MIT Media Lab alumni.

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58 Next to private use, LitiHolo believes its Desktop 3D Hologram Printer can be a door opener for holography to influence industries such as engineering, entertainment and architecture.

10-15 production orders produced daily within weeks of installation Boxes Inc was the first company in the USA to install the flagship Highcon® Beam 2C digital finishing system for corrugated earlier this year.

The company added the Beam 2C to their digital workflow primarily to support their online, customized packaging web-to-pack site, Xceed but is now also expanding usage to support other more traditional parts of their organization. Describing the install as its easiest ramp-up ever, Boxes Inc. benefitted most from the increased speed-to-market afforded by Highcon’s digital finishing technology.

With a clear commitment to excellence, this industry leader, together with subsidiary Mid America Display, has been producing industrial shipping and packaging products, POP displays and signage for over 40 years.

According to Jason Mueller, Sr. Vice President, General Manager, “We have installed a number of new machines oveeir customers’, sustainability objectives, while det to get the optimal ink transfer – ink starvation to the anilox can occur. This will be evident once the doctor blade is applied. If this was not noticed when the anilox was applied to the plate and impression set, you will see the starvation results. system has been developed to significantly improve and repair basic paper properties, and to increase the smoothness of the run through the press and finishing equipment.

Mr. Kyburz continues, “If you finish inline, the paper gets stressed.

We believe remoistening will help especially with the Canon ProStream 1800 press. It has a huge dryer (up to 180 degrees) so there is a lot of heating energy. The paper becomes wet one side due to the ink, then it is dried, following that the process continues on the other side of the

paper. Remoistening will help us to apply more folds and prevent it from breaking and let the press line run faster.

PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL and CorruTec ASIA Rescheduled to 19 – 22 October 2022 The new dates for PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL and CorruTec ASIA have been set for 19 – 22 October 2022 at BITEC, Bangkok. The move from the original February dates to October was deemed necessary to optimise participation for all involved in view of the on-going ban on large scale events in Bangkok, which is still marked a dark red zone in Thailand.

The varied quarantine requirements for returning international travellers are also a considerable factor, making it extremely challenging for stakeholders to plan their participation with confidence and certainty.

The team will reach out to all industry partners, confirmed exhibitors and participants regarding event logistics and planning. Participants may also contact ppi@mda.com.sg and corrutec@mda.com.sg for immediate assistance.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2021

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www.cgs-oris.com

Quality improvement Environmental resistance Faster drying Eco friendly

Ink Saving is so much more than just reducing costs: It helps optimizing the entire production process. How?

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