Digital driving ahead

Throughout 2014 there has been increasing focus on the opportunities provided by digital. For the packaging producers , the
increased concentration on all things sustainable and digital has led to a number of perceived benefits to the end-users. Examples of this include the ability to print on demand, exactly when, where and what you need to print. This reduces waste, and errors. As you can print exact numbers there is no overmatter, and as it is up to colour immediately, there is little if any makeready waste.

As there is no platemaking required - files go straight to press - companies not only save time in the printing process but there are also no associated storage or chemical costs that would accompany the plates. As a digital file can be sent worldwide instantly, and printed close to the customer there are considerable logistics savings and carbon reduction that can be achieved through digital.

With the advent of 3D printing and digital prototyping, products can be made more efficiently and quickly at less cost then previously.
One place where these and other developments have been made most clear was in this year's Global Insights report by Drupa. In the most recent results published in October some of the highlights have been:

¦ Changing demand for print but strong opportunities for growth remain

¦ Success of mass customisation of print

¦ Increasing adoption of interactive print in packaging

The report "Drupa Global The Impact of the Internet on Print - The digital flood illustrates how many Internet-enabled tools such as web-to-print, variable data printing, interactive print such as Augmented Reality and QR codes, and smart technologies such as printed electronics, will impact on most areas of the printing industry.

Print service providers and the supplier industry on the one hand and their customers on the other are being compelled to deal with new challenges and opportunities. In spring 2014, about 1,100 international key executives from the printing industry took part in the on-line survey and many participants provided very informative examples from their business environment.

The rise and rise of ecommerce
Ecommerce is growing in most global regions at rapid rates and printers are having to play catch-up, for whilst 51% of the survey panel had Web-to-Print services, only 14% reported it transacted more than 25% of their orders. Nevertheless, in the catalogue market, publishers understand that print catalogues drive online sales, and a majority of 60% of catalogue printers
reported growth in on-demand digital production.

The shift to mass customisation Whether it is photo books, calendars, stationery, marketing articles or T-shirts, in small or large volumes - the customised large-scale production of digital print articles is catching on. Already, 72% of all questioned commercial printers worldwide offer variable data printing services; in the US its proportion is even higher (87%).

While the proportion of variable pages remains small, 56% of participants reported moderate or fast growth. Increasing numbers of commercial printers offer a wide range of print products that can be both sold on the web and personalised These trends are confirmed by the Drupa Global Trends report published in spring 2014: 38% of commercial printers and 32% of publishing printers expressed their intention to invest in digital electrophotographic colour sheet printers.

Interactive printing increasing
Cross-media campaigns, with data acquisition/analysis and the use of several channels (eg, PURLs, Email, SMS), are increasingly demanded by customers. The range of applied technologies includes QR codes, other smart print options, augmented reality and near-field communication. As was to be expected, there are major regional differences: in the US 44% of print companies which took part in the survey offer interactive printing, but only 3% of providers in the Middle East. A substantial proportion of Drupa panel members from the packaging sector also use Internet-based tools; 50% use QR codes; 43% use variable content; and 41% of all packaging printers that took part in the survey offer personalised print.

The survey dealt with many other issues such as CRM, Digital Asset Management and 'Big Data', as well as the automation of workflows, and the need for companies to have better IT skills. It concludes that printers need to accept the reality of an Internet-driven multi-channel digital future, to change their approach and invest accordingly.

www.drupa.com

Digital News
UK based Connect Packaging has installed an HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press to provide digital printing services to the corrugated
packaging sector and develop a clear competitive advantage.

The press installation with a Kongsberg digital cutter from HP finishing partner Esko gives Connect a completely digital production
alternative, from design through printing and finishing. "Typically, it could take packaging buyers up to six months to make decisions - largely because of the cost involved in developing new packages," says James Newton, sales and marketing manager of Connect. "We are seeing this period cut to a matter of weeks, and the cost of short runs and prototypes reduced significantly; these are
important factors that help reduce time-to-market.

"The HP Scitex press is a step change for our business and a real game-changer for our customers, who understand the benefits
digital can offer" he states. "It's encouraging to see customers get on board with digital printing and share our excitement at the vast
potential for future collaborations."

The new press handles media up to 25mm thick and can print in up to seven colours at speeds up to 95 full-size (165 x 320cm)
sheets/hour. Cost-effective short runs for trials, special editions or localised versions, including store details, QR codes and runs of one, can be produced quickly, enabling design decisions to be made on the spot.

www.hp.com

Trident UK, part of Sonoco Trident, recently installed a Cyrel Digiflow flexographic printing system from DuPont Packaging Graphics. The Digiflow system gives Trident the capability to meet the needs of its high-end consumer packaged goods clients by delivering superior quality results, quickly and cost-effectively.

Cyrel DigiFlow is a digital workflow enhancement designed to expand the capabilities of digital Cyrel and digital Cyrel Fast. It adds a chamber that allows the creation of a controlled atmosphere during the main exposure, allowing one-to-one reproduction of image elements on the plate. This is critical to optimising the effects of solid screening patterns.

The DigiFlow exposure units can be used on an 'as-needed' basis, and can easily be switched off when the standard digital dot is the preferred result. The system is recommended as "the simplest and most cost-effective solution for flexographers desiring the ability to seamlessly switch between standard and flat top dots".

"The brand managers that Sonoco Trident works with have extremely high expectations," says Julia Cox, Trident UK's senior
commercial manager. "Innovative solutions like Cyrel Digiflow allow us to offer our clients speed and flexibility, without sacrificing quality."

www.cyrel.com

During the recent "Gallus Innovation Days 2014", the press manufacturer unveiled its future machine generation for digital label
printing - a pre-series model of the DCS 340 (Digital Converting System) system, which has been developed in co-operation with
Heidelberg and Fujifilm.

"Due to continuing growth in short run label production and personalised, versioned labels, we are seeing investment on the
market steadily shift towards printing presses that utilise digital printing," said Stefan Heiniger, COO label business at Gallus. "The
growth potential for this printing method is considerable and we expect to see high growth rates over the next 10 years."

Thanks to the collaboration with Heidelberg and Fujifilm, its partner for inkjet technology, the new digital inline label printing system features a printing module in which several inkjet printheads can be joined together for a greater print width, without visible transitions. A native resolution of 1,200dpi is said to deliver print quality "that is unmatched in UV inkjet printing today".

By combining the strengths of digital printing with an inline finishing process that has been specially optimised for that process, the Gallus DCS 340 gives users the chance to varnish, embellish and further process labels inline - from the roll to the finished diecut
label in a single production operation.

Heidelberg's Prinect digital front end is used to automate the prepress workflow together with functions such as spot colour matching, the PDF Toolbox and Prepress Manager for even greater efficiency.

In addition, the ECS 340 line features a new Gallus high performance matrix stripper developed specifically for matrix removal with highly complex die lines at maximum speeds and enables a stable matrix removal process at all times.

www.gallus-group.com

Xeikon claims that its new Cheetah system is "the fastest 5-colour digital label press in the world". Dedicated solely to self-adhesive/
pressure sensitive label production, the new press can output high quality labels at 30m/min. The new machine was revealed at Labelexpo Americas 2014 and will be available commercially during 2015.

"This increase in speed represents a huge leap forward in digital press technology," says Patrick Van Baelen, Xeikon's VP-WW
marketing. "The Cheetah narrows the gap between digital printing and traditional flexo/offset methods for producing labels. The
increase in speed also results in a lower total production cost."

The Cheetah can handle substrate widths of up to 330mm with a true print resolution of 1,200 x 3,600dpi. It utilises full rotary printing,
where the press speeds are independent of the number of colours used and/or the repeat length of the job. Full rotary printing also
simplifies step-and-repeat and subsequent finishing operations. In addition to the standard CMYK + white, the fifth station on the
new press can be used to print gamut expansion colours or security toner. The imaging width is up to 322mm while the repeat length is variable from 0-55m. Media weights range from 40-350g/m².

www.xeikon.com