The launch event for the Koenig & Bauer Durst Varijet 106 means there have been two new carton presses in as many weeks. Last week Kodak announced the Ascend, developed to handle short runs of folding carton board and like the Varijet 106, printing digitally. As a certain Mr Sherlock Holmes might say “The game, my dear Dr Watson, is a-foot!” These are very different machines and tackle different parts of a market that is far from fully formed. As K&B Durst CEO Robert Stabler admits, success will be down to brands demanding faster turnarounds of shorter print runs of more sustainably produced print. He is unlikely to be disappointed given what has taken place in the last 18 months or so.
The Varijet 106 is a machine for those with deep pockets, the Kodak Ascend less so. The one uses a B1 format that dominates carton printing to add digital printing to existing set ups, the other uses a digital print format to expand what digital printers can do into carton printing. Both start with the conviction that skus will continue to proliferate, demanding rapid prototyping and sampling and that the trends that are established in narrow web label production will tip into carton printing.
The two machines share something of a design and development ethos. Both make good use of existing and proven technologies. For Kodak this is about the Nexpress and its extended range of toners. For Koenig & Bauer Durst it is about bringing technology that is used in other parts of their respective businesses, together with some additional unique development, to build a press that has the specification that Stabler says is required in the market in terms of speed and quality. The idea is to hit the ground running, and as the owners have always said that any product would need to make financial and economic sense, with a product that can quickly pay its way. Sometimes the timing of a product launch can be as important as its specification. Two companies will be hoping that they have this timing spot on.
It can take two to tango to digital success
The launch event for the Koenig & Bauer Durst Varijet 106 means there have been two new carton presses in as many weeks. Last week Kodak announced the Ascend, developed to handle short runs of folding carton board and like the Varijet 106, printing digitally. As a certain Mr Sherlock Holmes might say “The game, my dear Dr Watson, is a-foot!” These are very different machines and tackle different parts of a market that is far from fully formed. As K&B Durst CEO Robert Stabler admits, success will be down to brands demanding faster turnarounds of shorter print runs of more sustainably produced print. He is unlikely to be disappointed given what has taken place in the last 18 months or so.
The Varijet 106 is a machine for those with deep pockets, the Kodak Ascend less so. The one uses a B1 format that dominates carton printing to add digital printing to existing set ups, the other uses a digital print format to expand what digital printers can do into carton printing. Both start with the conviction that skus will continue to proliferate, demanding rapid prototyping and sampling and that the trends that are established in narrow web label production will tip into carton printing.
The two machines share something of a design and development ethos. Both make good use of existing and proven technologies. For Kodak this is about the Nexpress and its extended range of toners. For Koenig & Bauer Durst it is about bringing technology that is used in other parts of their respective businesses, together with some additional unique development, to build a press that has the specification that Stabler says is required in the market in terms of speed and quality. The idea is to hit the ground running, and as the owners have always said that any product would need to make financial and economic sense, with a product that can quickly pay its way. Sometimes the timing of a product launch can be as important as its specification. Two companies will be hoping that they have this timing spot on.
Gareth Ward
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