The flexo market is ripe for inkjet adoption, at least for developers of inkjet presses. Fujifilm plans to show off its FP790 developments during an event at its Advanced Print Technology Centre in Brussels this week, while Screen is bringing the prototype model of its Truepress PAC520P to FachPack, a packaging show in Germany.
These add to the Landa W10 digital press which is being prepared for its first beta site and to the Kodak Uteco Sapphire which is already in operation at sites in Italy and Japan.
The new machines are responding to moves in Japan for shorter runs, but where the Japanese market is happy to accept UV cured inkjet, European and North American customers want water based inks.
The new Fujifilm machine is a mid web machine at 790mm across using Fujifilm Dimatix heads to print at 1200dpi at 50m/minute. It was first announced a year ago, with the press reaching its commercialisation point. It runs four colours only, yet can reach 90% of PMS colours. It prints on PET and BOPP films.
The Screen PAC520P by contrast prints only on paper, Screen arguing that the tectonic shift away from plastic packaging will increase demand for paper materials.
It shares a strong heritage with the TPJ520 for commercial print, including the 520mm web width.
The aqueous inks on this press are pigment based and comply with food safe regulations, says Screen. There is no date for commercial release as yet.
It will sit alongside the Truepress 830F, its inkjet press developed for printing on PET and BOPP films using water based inks. The press is in its final development stages with initial placements due before the end of the year.
The new machines will be joined before long by the Landa W10, the first web press to use its nanographic inks, with other manufacturers working on presses for flexible packaging, including the likes of Bobst’s Mouvent subsidiary and others from the label world that can offer water based inks.
The argument in favour of digital printing for flexible packaging combines a sustainability argument and a marketing one, focused on an increasing number of skus and product diversification. Current electrophotographic technologies are not able to complete on any but the shortest runs.
However, brands will need to adapt other parts of the product process to be successful. When Nestle ran a personalised KitKat bar on its packing lines, it had to switch off quality inspection tools which are used to spotting any slight defects in packaging on high speed lines.
