Page 37 - Print21 Jan-Feb 2020

Technology
ANZ print industry. Opening a direct subsidiary here is a good opportunity for Durst and for
its customers to capitalise on its technological leadership. It means we can get closer to the market, and customers will be closer to the factory.”
Durst CEO Christof Gamper tells me its strategy for competing with the bigger manufacturers
is “innovation, innovation, and innovation.”
He says, “We are focused on
the business and have an absolute passion and dedication to what we’re doing. We are not competing in every field, we always choose carefully. We compete in the high end, and we always strive to be number one or number two.”
The company had its origins
in photographic technology, becoming a major player in precision photo enlargers, then
it developed the Lambda photo printers, able to reproduce 68 billion colours from digital files
in RGB. It moved into digital UV inkjet printing in 2003, and is now a 100 per cent digital business.
The arrival of Durst as a direct subsidiary in this region is a vote of confidence in the market, and in its ability to move to high end digital solutions across a range of applications. 21
Durst solutions for wide format, labels, textiles and packaging
Durst has just moved to a new print platform, the P5, which includes hardware and software plus a white label web-to-print textile solution that print businesses can use.
The P5 includes a trio of new wide format printers: the flagship 250HS, and the hybrid 350 and 250. Also new is the Durst workflow software which includes Durst Smartshop ecommerce for B2B and B2C engagement. It includes an online editor, and is described by the company as an immersive customer experience.
Matt Ashman said, “The P5 is designed to increase speed, productivity and versatility. It is a whole new ecosystem.”
The P5 series is based around a smaller ink droplet size, and comes with new LED curing for low energy costs. The flagship P5 250 HS pumps out up to 600sqm an hour at 1200dpi. The P5 210 is the entry level machine with a capability of around 120sqm an hour. The P5 350 is a 3.5m printer which is both roll to roll and flatbed.
Ashman said, “One of the key benefits of the new P5 series is the ink purging, which is just once a week. The printers are aimed at high volume businesses and those with aspirations.”
Durst is also launching a new textile printer, the Alpha, which comes with no need for a calender system. Ashman said, “It will print 600sqm an hour of high quality pigmented ink. Textile printing is ready for take off in Australia, and the Alpha is a great means for entrepreneurial printers to exploit that market.”
The company claims it will compete directly against screen printing. Ashman says, “It is not
just about pure print speed but the simplification
of printing processes so that the user can start production immediately. The Alpha series combines new process technologies in order to make the interaction between print head, ink system, material, and type of fabric, as well as pre- and post-treatment, manageable and reproducible at all times.”
The Alpha series offers print widths of 190 cm and 330 cm to suit the type of material being run through the machine. Four ink configurations exist for the machine, with acid, reactive and disperse dye sets, as well as pigment ink for cotton and polyester applications.
The Alpha Slots Piezo High Speed printheads are specific to this model, and it can be configured with up to eight colours that achieve a native resolution of 600 dpi and a print speed of 460 lm/h.
The inks are Durst’s own Oeko-Tex Standard 100 as well as a Gots- certified reactive ink system. Durst has also developed a new pigmented ink (Alpha Ink P) which can be used on a
Multiple opportunites: Paul Sanelli with the new Durst Tau 420
wide variety of textiles. No pre- or post-treatment is required for standard materials such as cotton or polyester, though an integrated spray system allows other materials to be chemically pre-treated before printing.
The feed system adapts automatically to different textiles and roll diameters. Durst has also developed a Textile Workflow System that includes one-step profiling for new materials and colour matching.
Ashman said, “Just like the Durst label presses, the textile printers mean no waste and shorter runs. They also mean on-shore sourcing for the market, so rather than having to wait for transport from China, designers can have their fabrics quickly and in the lengths they want.”
Durst is also launching its first new label platform for seven years with the scalable Tau 420 RSCi, with local sales manager Paul Sanelli saying it “changes the rules” of label print production.
The new press comes with field upgradable web widths and four or eight colours, also upgradable. It prints at 1200x1200dpi, using Fuji Samba heads, at 100 metres per minute print speed.
The three web width options are 330mm, 420mm and 510mm; the colours are CMYK plus orange, violet, green, and white. Sanelli says, “Durst has future-proofed the investment for label printers, and created a press that offers those label printers multiple new opportunities. It will print from 20 micron film up to 500 micron board, on a range of web widths. The application range is huge.”
The Tau 420 RCSi can also be used as an inline digital engine on a hybrid press; at Labelexpo it was shown with an Omet flexo printer. Sanelli said, “High volume printers will benefit from the new platform, with 100 metres per minute in high quality on a range of media giving them real production power.”
At Labelexpo under its We Keep You
Printing slogan, Durst also featured dedicated Web2Production workflow software; its own prepress Workflow Label software; and its current Tau 330 RSC and RSC-E presses, as well as a new low-migration UV ink, which is Eupia and Swiss Ordinance compliant for food and pharma applications.
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