Packaging News

A fifth of the 20,500 pre-registered visitors to international print show Ipex this May will be on the prowl for investments in packaging over the coming year, according to research carried out by show organiser IIR Exhibitions.

Ipex director Trevor Crawford believes the exhibition could be interesting for both commercial as well as packaging printers as commercial printers could find out about the benefits of moving into packaging and vice versa. "I think from both ends there are opportunities to be had," he says.

The show, which will return to the Birmingham NEC from 18-25 May, will this year overlap with the packaging and processing show Total, which runs from 25-27 May. So far, a total of 70 pre-registered exhibitors have indicated an involvement in the packaging industry, nine of which will exhibit at both Ipex and Total.

But which press manufacturers will be exhibiting at the show? Show stalwart Heidelberg has been dethroned as the largest exhibitor at Ipex as digital press manufacturer HP takes the crown. Digital will now account for 38% of the 100,000m2 footprint of the show, but that does not mean the old guard will not be represented. Heidelberg, Manroland, KBA and Komori will all be out in force, representing the litho industry.

"Lean manufacturing, environmental solutions and colour control will be key issues at Ipex 2010," predicts Steve Cavey, packaging product manager with Heidelberg UK. "Quality and sustainability are issues that packaging printers should review at the show. Certifications, accreditations and proven control mechanisms are expected and often need to be specified in tender documents. That means they must look not only at press developments, but also at workflow solutions, and open JDF/CIP 4 connectivity between production and business processes to speed up makeready times and enable printers to control colour, cost and productivity more effectively."

Automated operations
On Heidelberg's stand at Ipex, packaging industry visitors can view a Speedmaster XL105 long-perfecting press using the Prinect Inpress Control automatic non-stop delivery system. This enables pile changes in the delivery to be performed without an operator, and according to Heidelberg, pile-change cycles of eight minutes or less are not uncommon. The system currently covers litho but with the promise of flexo and gravure options in future.

A Speedmaster XL75 five-colour press is also on show, fitted with Heidelberg's new CleanStar process air extraction system. The CleanStar promises to reduce not only the ammonia content in the air, but also the concentration of dust in the print room environment.

Heidelberg is also using Ipex as a platform for communicating that it is now able to offer its very-large-format (VLF) presses, the Speedmaster XL162 and XL145, with double coating, UV and perfecting options.

Their size means the VLF presses won't be on stand, but Heidelberg is inviting packaging printers and converters to arrange visits before or after the show to its Wiesloch site in Germany, where they can view Heidelberg's full equipment and workflow range, including its VLF presses.

Heavy metal?
Yet visitors hoping to see lots of heavy metal might be slightly disappointed as certain suppliers have decided to leave their presses, particularly VLF presses, at home.

Manroland, for one, won't be exhibiting any presses on stand. Instead, the world's second largest printing systems manufacturer is building on the ‘customer-oriented' concept it introduced at Drupa 2008.

"We're not bringing printing equipment to the show for the simple reason that we believe trade shows are moving away from ‘heavy metal' towards a forum for talking to customers and building strategic partnerships," explains Norman Revill, managing director, Manroland GB.

While he acknowledges many of these discussions will be around straightforward printing press enquiries, in the light of the recession, he expects visitors to be particularly interested in ‘future proofing' and value-added solutions.

"We understand how tough it is for printers and are passionate about providing the tools they need to give customers the results they want, whether that's via high-tech value-added applications or ecological developments."

He says an example of a value-added solution could be plastics printing, and although Manroland's R500 press for carrying out this task isn't at Ipex, the company is offering to take visitors to see this and other presses in operation at customer sites in and around Birmingham.

However, press manufacturers are still eager to talk about new technological developments, which appear to be concentrated in three areas: boosting productivity, improving quality and making the printing process greener.

More ‘eco-friendly' printing can be achieved through low-carbon print with alcohol-free dampening, waterless offset and enhanced energy efficiency, according to KBA.

Genius demonstration
KBA is demonstrating its Genius 52UV litho sheetfed offset press with waterless and UV technology for printing on plastic and cartons, and several models from the Rapida range.

Printing with keyless inking units, the Genius 52UV is said to offer fast makeready, start-up waste of less than 20 sheets, substrate flexibility up to a thickness of 0.8mm (32pt), and environmental friendliness.

The Rapida 75, which debuted at Drupa 2008, is on show at Ipex with various new features, including a new feeder, the sheet grippers that are on all larger Rapida presses, air blowers to support sheet guidance, a new sheet brake in the delivery, transfer cylinders without drum shells, automatic format presetting and remote maintenance via the internet.

KBA is demonstrating its makeready expertise with the 18,000sph Rapida 106 medium-format press. The press on show at Ipex is a six-colour version with a sidelay-free infeed, dedicated plate-cylinder drives for simultaneous plate changing, on-press plate recognition and pre-registration with Plate-Ident, and Flying JobChange for parallel printing and makeready and thus nonstop job changeovers.

Ryobi, meanwhile, will demonstrate its LED-UV curing system on an SRA1-format press for the first time. The LED-UV curing unit replaces conventional UV lamps with long-life UV light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which is claimed to cut power consumption by at least 70%. In addition, the system eliminates the need for exhaust equipment to handle heat and ozone. The technology is available on its Ryobi 520 series, the B2+ format 750 series, and the 920 series press.

Flexo and gravure
Flexo and gravure printing equipment manufacturers are less well represented at the show.

Edale's Gamma flexo press is a servo-driven printing and converting press that offers high-speed job changeover and ‘plug and play' converting. Edale says these features make it a complete production machine, capable of producing folding cartons, food sleeves, metallised film and labels. The importance of short-run production is also reflected by the Pit Stop Colour Change on Edale's Gamma press, which allows print head colour changing to be carried out in one and a half minutes.

"As well as more complex machines, we have been concentrating on the other end of the market, which we believe has been overlooked by other press manufacturers," says the company's technical director, Steve Jordan.

This resulted in the launch in March of the new nine-colour Alpha-Multi flexo press. The Alpha-Multi builds on the Alpha machine, of which there are now 150 installations, but has a smaller footprint (less than 5m) and costs a fraction of the price. Its twin-stack construction allows printing to take place on one half of the press while the other half is being made ready. The Alpha-Multi can be bought as a stand-alone press or as an upgrade to the Alpha.

Timsons, meanwhile, isn't bringing any presses to the show, but is using its presence to promote its T-Flex 600 flexo press for flexible packaging. Timsons says the machine's quick-change capability maximises profitability in high-quality, short-run printing of packaging material including film, paper or board.

T-Flex 600 print cylinders can be changed easily without the use of tools - one person can change eight cylinders in around 15 minutes using the ‘lift-and-slide' system.

Accurate temperature control is said to optimise ink transfer and maximise quality performance on text, fine half-tones and heavy solids.

Ipex 2010, therefore, will not just be about shiny machinery on stand. The choice of some companies to leave presses at home is understandable and the renewed focus on discussion can only be a good thing. Ipex will be a chance to discuss the added value a press can bring to a business. And when this is coupled with a trip to Total next door, it should definitely be worth a day out of the office.

IPEX ROUND-UP
• Komori-Chambon is showing its second generation of web offset sleeve units. Available in 720mm and 850mm web widths, the presses are said to combine robust, reliable and compact design with excellent output and cost efficiency. Komori says they can print a variety of substrates and offer unrivalled print quality even on low-grade board.
• Goss International’s Vpak press, which uses sleeved and gapless technology to change impression-cylinder diameter and hence repeat length, will be on show. The press units have been designed to deliver the flexibility of the flexographic process with equivalent speeds and quality of gravure.
• Heidelberg’s CleanStar process air extraction system, Ryobi’s LED-UV curing system, KBA’s VariDryBlue dryers and Goss International’s Ecochill drying technology will be just some of the ‘green’ innovations on show.
• Visitors interested in consumables as well as equipment should stop by Van Son’s booth, where the Dutch company is launching its Quickson PERFECT four-colour offset litho ink set to the UK market. This set of inks has been specifically designed for printing to ISO12647-2 standards.