Day Four: Spotlight on Package Printing / Labels and Flexible Packaging

The fourth day of the dynamic worldwide event that is now reaching attendees across 90 countries, features new products from the event’s sponsor of the day, Durst with its TAU digital press line, as well as video demonstrations and new product showcases from Epson, HP, Screen Americas, Xeikon, and more.

Epson SurePress L-6534VW Digital Label Press

Michael Nyman, senior product specialist, Epson America, highlights the SurePress L-6534VW digital label press. Designed for label converters investing in a digital label press for the first time or looking to expand, the press delivers three print speed modes to meet a range of converter needs.

The digital label printing market is strong. Especially in the past few months, there has been a noticeable spike in interest from certain short-run label segments,” said Victor Gomez, Director, Industrial Labels at Epson America, Inc. “Converters are responding to the demands of the moment -- faster turnaround times, shorter runs, automated, adaptable to shifts in demand -- by looking to trusted, reliable suppliers like Epson for the digital label presses that deliver top image quality and durability at high production speeds. We're thrilled to be able to demonstrate our industry-leading UV digital label press during the PRINTING United Digital Experience.”

HP Indigo 6K and HP Indigo 25K

HP Indigo imaging technology, suited for labels and packaging, will be featured during today’s Digital Experience event. HP’s Brent Holloway and Brian Cleary will be presenting the latest developments of the HP Indigo 6K and HP Indigo 25K technology.

HP’s sponsorship of multiple days of the PRINTING United Digital Experience shows our continued support of this powerful online experience,” says Bryan Topham, HP Labels and Packaging Segment Marketing Manager. “The event is filling a need in the marketplace for companies like ours to showcase the very latest technology highlights to help our customers’ profits and growth.”

Screen Americas Truepress Jet 350 UV SAI Series

The Truepress Jet L350UV SAI series, developed in response to the industry’s need for mixed, short-run printing for the high price and luxury segments; enables richer color expression and superior scalability, enabling it to meet a wide variety of needs. “SAI” refers to its extremely Stable operation, highly Accurate color reproduction, and time-tested Integrated technologies. The company has chosen to spotlight this important technology at the PRINTING United Digital Experience.

What we hear from our label and packaging customers is loud and clear: business was changing already, and the pandemic only accelerated the pace,” said Mark Schlimme, Vice President of Marketing, Screen Americas. “Digital capabilities are no longer seen as a solution solely for niche or boutique work and especially not just for short run. They need a flexible and dynamic mix of manufacturing capabilities for high quality work over very short production cycles and they need to address the realities of a labor force in transition.

“Digital is not a separate category – it’s integral to a full service provider. This dynamic is behind the recent success of our Truepress Jet L350UV family of UV inkjet presses for the narrow web label market – we’ll double our US install base in the next year. But, it’s also behind SCREEN’s road map where we’re tightly focused on the label and packaging market and in just the next 14 months alone are launching production-class solutions for flexible packaging, folding carton, and corrugated board. This space is incredibly exciting to SCREEN.”

Xeikon

Earlier this month, Xeikon announced the latest member of its Panther product family: the Xeikon PX30000, a 6- and 7-color UV inkjet digital label press. This new press offers Xeikon customers a cost-effective and fast time-to-market for short- to medium-run flexo jobs, expanding their business opportunities. In addition, Xeikon announced the Xeikon CX300, based on Cheetah 2.0 technology, which addresses current market needs in the label market with versatility, productivity, and quality with dry toner - a must for food container labels and packaging. In addition to delivering exceptional application versatility, the Xeikon CX300 is designed to achieve the highest possible OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness).

Today’s investments need to deliver results,” said Donna Covannon, Director, Marketing at Xeikon. “Printing speed is an important factor, but combining that with a low OEE would not deliver the value printers and label converters are looking for. With Cheetah 2.0 technology, we have focused on combining high production speeds with a high OEE, ultimately resulting in maximum sellable output.”

In addition, although not a press, Xeikon’s new Fusion Embellishment Unit (FEU), based on MGI technology, was launched in September. The Xeikon FEU provides embellishments such as spot varnish, tactile varnish, foiling, 3D textures and holograms across a wide range of substrates.

Research and Education

Lisa Cross, Principal Analyst, NAPCO Media, presents today’s industry outlook which highlights the findings from recent surveys of brand owners and packaging printers/converters that are engaged in these dynamic application areas. The day’s keynote, Trends and Opportunities in Labels and Flexible Packaging, is being presented by Linnea Keen, President of TLMI, and Alison Keane, President and CEO of the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA).

Cory Francer, editor-in-chief of Packaging Impressions, will lead two panel discussions called The Power of Flexibility: How to Maximize Growth in Both Segments and The Digital Future for Labels and Flexible Packaging.

In addition to panel discussions and sessions being held each day, attendees can view an array of on-demand sessions by industry thought leaders, all accessible now.

Tomorrow’s community focus will be on Graphics/Wide-format finishing and workflow technology.