Print show UK – part 2

Atlantic Zeiser (Hall 6, stand C557) is set to show 11 ‘world premieres’ at IPEX, including its Delta 105 grayscale printer family. The water-based version enables ‘high quality printing on absorbent open substrates for security printing’. UV ink models will print on more difficult substrates such as lacquered, laminated and glossy materials, often used in packaging. Features include single-pass spot colour print engines; standard resolution of 600dpi; speeds up to 3m/min; and variable drop size for an enhanced print quality and ink efficiency.

An array of AZ Omega single-pass monochrome printers will highlight their ‘accurate reproduction and legibility of barcodes, graphics and textual information’ on coated paper and board, plastics, metals, foils and glass. The Omega print engine’s inkjet drop on demand (DoD) technology can print with white ink on a dark background. A high print quality of 360 or 720dpi at print widths from 36 - 210mm allows pre-printed products to be customised to a standard that makes it difficult to distinguish the overprinting from the pre-printing, claims the company.

On stand 7-D455, Baldwin Technology will be presenting the highly automated FlexoPlate stereo cleaning system for flexo corrugated press applications. The new system is automating a process that is often carried out manually in today’s packaging operations, improving press uptime by 40-50%, it is claimed.

In Hall 12, stand C150, DuPont Packaging Graphics will showcase the Cyrel Fast round, an ‘easy to use hardware and consumable system that delivers a continuous print flexo sleeve for high quality printing and improved workflow productivity’. It includes the new Cyrel round thermal processor, high productivity Cyrel exposure and light finisher units, Cyrel Fast round Photopolymer sleeves, as well as a high resolution cantilevered EskoArtwork - Cyrel Digital Imager.

Designed for efficient workflow with just one operator, the system is said to be capable of producing more than four high quality imaged sleeves per hour, with the first print form ready to go on press in just 30min.

Aiming to demonstrate its experience in four distinct areas of operation – commercial security, flexo printing, speciality converting and digital printing, Edale (Hall 6, stand D561) won’t be showing individual machines. Instead, there will be ‘a wealth of information’ on the full product range - Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Lambda – and the newly launched Alpha-Multi.

Also demonstrating the capabilities of an Edale machine is Agfa (Hall 11, stand CD220), which will be showcasing the digital :Dotrix Modular System. The Single Pass Inkjet Colour Engine (SPICE) of the :Dotrix Modular is integrated in Edale’s narrow and medium web flexo press design. Also on the Agfa stand will be the new Edale servo driven variable length sheet cutter, which converts jumbo rolls of plain or pre-printed materials to sheets, delivered into shingle or deep pile stacks.

Kodak (Hall 9, stand E320) will unveil a system for the packaging market called Flexcel Direct. It comprises a Kodak imager, media and workflow and new technology for direct laser engraving of flexo forms. An ‘affordable’ option for flat plate, plate on sleeve, or continuous sleeve applications, it simplifies plate making, removes the need for chemical processing and improves on-press performance, says Kodak.

The Flexcel NX digital flexo system is said to give ‘offset class, gravure quality’ results for tags and labels, folding cartons and flexible packages. Digicap NX Screening for the current Flexcel NX promises to increase the visual impact of flexible package printing by ‘dramatically’ improving ink transfer.

For offset package printers, the new Trillian SP Plates will print in harsh press environments, including UV and EB applications, without post-baking.

The new-generation VariDry Blue infra-red/hot-air dryer will have its official market launch at Ipex 2010. KBA (Hall 6, stand D560) claims it will ‘redefine the benchmark in energy efficiency - drying at high production speeds while achieving enormous energy savings. Available for use on the company’s large Rapidas with coaters, the VariDry Blue was specifically engineered to dry high-gloss coatings energy efficiently and to a superior standard of quality. KBA claims it cuts power consumption by as much as 50%, even at maximum output levels, while at the same time supporting high production speeds. It is also said to be easy to access when the sheet guides need to be cleaned.

Epson (Hall 10n stand C260) will launch its Digital Label Press at the show. Featuring Micro Piezo inkjet technology, the press is aimed at companies wishing to produce short runs of high quality labels cost effectively. It delivers smooth gradations and superb colour quality on a wide range of versatile media, including standard semi-gloss, film and matte labelstock up to 320 micron in thickness and rolls from 80-330mm wide. The Digital Label Press prints at up to 5m/min, and uses Epson’s enhanced 6-colour pigment ink system to reproduce colours with ‘remarkable accuracy’.

Also on show will be the Stylus Pro WT7900 inkjet printer, demonstrating contract packaging proofs and accurate sample production.

Exhibiting within PrintCity, manroland (Hall 17, stand F921) is to showcase its entire process know-how as a pressbuilder, linked with data and materials logistics. In a presentation that will focus on a customer’s business model and products, it will include ‘real-life’ examples for packaging printing.

In addition, with the ecometer, the company will demonstrate how sustainable printing works, and present its wide variety of services in the PrintValue competence center. Ipex visitors will have the opportunity to visit manroland reference customers in and around Birmingham, as well as a series of events in the Offenbach Print Technology Center.

The new 75DI digital offset press is to be demonstrated by Presstek on stand C480 in Hall 7. It is said to offer very high quality (300 lpi or stochastic screening), extreme automation (8min job-to-job turnover); and a small environmental footprint with waterless printing technology, chemistry-free imaging on-press, fast run-up for minimal waste.

The 75DI press has a top print speed of 16,000 sheets/hour and a maximum print area of 760 x 580mm. It can print on a wide range of stocks ranging from 0.04 to 0.6mm. In addition, the new press incorporates ‘significant technological advances’, including new on-press imaging technology in which all diodes image through a single lens, resulting in improved image quality and ‘even easier makeready’. The efficiency of the press is further enhanced by a simultaneous imaging and cleaning process that optimises makeready time between jobs.

In Hall 9, on stand C364, MIS provider Shuttleworth Business Systems will be demonstrating developments to its Estimating system incorporating a new Wizard based tool to speed up the quoting process. The Wizard is a free upgrade to the estimating module and is billed as a major step forward over the traditional methods of estimating work.

Ipex 2010 will also see the launch of Supply Chain Manager, ‘the first software as a service product on the print market’. Hosted by Shuttleworth it requires no additional software or hardware by the user - Shuttleworth’s website does all the chasing, ‘taking the hassle and cost out of the whole process’.

Xeikon (Hall 11, stand C230) will stage a first public demonstration on its new 3500, a machine said to outclass any existing digital label press - almost twice as productive than its closest competitor system, boasts Xeikon. It comes with five colour stations as standard, the fifth for spot colours, ‘unique full rotary printing’ and 1,200dpi resolution. Label converters can make use of a print width range from 200-512mm to broaden their scope in digitally printed applications. The 3500’s printing top speed of 19.2m/min is considered ‘ideal’ for producing self-adhesive (SA) and heat transfer labels. The press will apply a special security toner for anti-counterfeiting, and a ‘one-pass’ opaque white to create a ‘no label look’ on transparent labels.

The 3500 can produce up to 570m²/hour in 4 or 5-colour printing, on scalable widths and using SA papers, co-extruded films, BOPP and PET, transparent and opaque foils, and paperboard from 40-350g/m².

Xeikon says the significant impact of the 3500 is on the break-even point between digital label printing and conventional printing technologies. Users considering a switch from analogue to digital label production are told they can expect cost-effective production of volumes beyond 4,000 linear metres.