LABELEXPO EUROPE BREAKS RECORDS

LABELS&LABELING |19
PPW'S Nick Coombes takes questions during a workshop Q&A session
PARTNERS SHOW DIGITAL
PACKAGE WORKFLOW
HP Indigo, Highcon and Scodix joined forces
at Labelexpo to provide a real-life example of
how packaging can be successfully printed
using a completely digital workflow.
Personalized cartons were on show,
which were produced using the newly
commercialized HP Indigo 30000 digital
press, tailored for folding carton production
with in-line coating, and converted using the
Highcon Euclid digital cutting and creasing
system.
These cartons were embellished with the
use of Scodix’s technology to add sensory
elements to the feel of finished packaging.
Scodix recently launched its Ultra digital
press, based on its Sense technology and
capable of producing 1,250 B2 format sheets
per hour.
Highcon has installed its first beta units
with Glossop Cartons in the UK and Antilope
in Belgium, with both recording immediate
success. Antilope was honoured with a 2013
Pro Carton/ECMA Award for its work on the
packaging for Mylène’s Femme Fatale eau
de parfum. Glossop Cartons has meanwhile
won a regional business award in the UK
for the marketing of its recent investments,
including the Euclid, and is in the running
for further awards in the coming weeks and
months.
Aviv Ratzman, chief executive officer and
co-founder of Highcon, said: ‘There is a need
to provide added value to brand owners and
to run away from price competition. Value
can be created by meeting the demand
for better shelf appearance, shorter runs,
versioning, private label, reduced inventory
and sustainability.
‘All of these demands are supported by
HP Indigo digital presses, Scodix digital
enhancements and Highcon cutting and
creasing, and will be an important part of our
joint vision of transforming the way cartons
are converted.’
the full width of the press to ensure
registration and print pressure are correct
and consistent.
He noted the technical differences
between running paper label stocks and
filmic substrates, and acknowledged
some of the challenges printers may
encounter when faced with the two
substrates, but which they need to find
ways to overcome.
‘There is a lot of crossover happening
in the narrow web market, with customers
wanting a one-stop-shop for printing,
and their suppliers to be able to produce
different packaging from labels to
stand-up pouches.
‘However, the flexible packaging market
offers some very unique challenges. A
very small temperature change can have
a big impact, from as little as one degree
Celsius. Flexible substrates are extruded
from a liquid into a solid, and will look
to revert back at the first chance, so do
not underestimate the importance of
temperature and the impact it can have.’
Tension also plays an important part
in the process, and can affect flexible
substrates by overstretching the material
and causing plastic deformation, while
print pressure is an ever-present issue
with printing, but is again monitored using
the camera system.
The Combat M3 is equipped with chill
drums on each print station to maintain
the substrate’s temperature. Servo-driven
motors allow the precise control of
pressure at each printing station, and an
inertia compensation system is fitted into
the press to aid with the management
of tension control during unwinding and
rewinding.
‘Servos can provide the exact amount
of pressure from the rolls, and allow just
enough tension to move the substrate
through the press without mechanically
stretching it, so providing a flowing
movement to progress the job steadily,’
D’Annunzio said.
In fact, D’Annnunzio says, the tension
required to handle polypropylene is
almost nil, while heavier fiber-based
stocks require significantly more.
D’Annunzio concludes: ‘The ability
to control the temperature and
automatically adjust the tension is an
important element in modern package
printing.
‘We are entering a new frontier, and
the ability to handle multiple substrates,
change jobs quickly and automatically
adjust the press is allowing conventional
printing to compete with digital.’
XEIKON'S Filip Weymans presented digital carton
printing in the Package Printing Workshop feature area
NOVEMBER 2013 | L&L