Page 48 - Packaging News Magazine Sep-Oct 2021

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PACK & LABEL PRINTING | www.packagingnews.com.au | September-October 2021
Heidelberg pushes packaging
Packaging and label solutions are coming to the fore at Heidelberg, with prepress, press and post-press available in end-to-end integrated systems. Wayne Robinson reports.
to Push-to-Stop functionality. Speci- fications go up to 15 printing and coating units. Heidelberg says it already has two orders from packag- ing printers for the 15 unit version, which is 30 metres long.
Heidelberg has also launched its new 106 XL 8+L YYY eight-colour plus coater plus three drying units press, designed specifically for the thin films for in-mould and wet glue label printing.
Running at 14,000sph the new press has implemented aerodynamic technologies, to enable to achieve consistent stability and quality on thin films at high speeds.
Heidelberg says in-mould labels are an attractive market for print because they show stable growth in a stable market, have been unaffected by Covid, and are used on an increas- ing number of products, from cheese and ice cream, to paints and oils.
The Gallus range of label presses are also part of the Heidelberg group portfolio, and comes with an exten- sive range of machines to choose from, be it flexo, offset or hybrid machines. To date three Labelfire machines are installed and running successfully in the ANZ market with a fourth currently on order.
Hybrid means having both conven- tional, including flexographic print- ing with in-line embellishment and die cutting, and digital inkjet print- ing in one system.
Wissmann says, “If you google a product like Nivea Shampoo, for instance, you will see countless dif- ferent versions of the shampoo prod- uct. They all need a label, and the most efficient way to print such labels is with the hybrid system.” ■
PRINT equipment manufacturing giant Heidelberg is making it clear that it sees the packaging market as a key driver of growth, both for itself, and for its customers. The company has focused on the sec- tor for some time now, and has developed a range of equipment
– hardware and software – that it says will enable businesses to optimise the opportunities in packaging.
Dierk Wissmann, national sales manager Heidelberg Australia and New Zealand (HAN) says, “Packaging is a growth market, especially in fold- ing boxes and labels. With Heidelberg’s Prinect workflow, offset presses, Gallus label presses, folder gluers, and both rotary and flatbed die cutters, packaging printers have all they need. When they deal with Heidelberg they are also receiving the benefit of our industry knowledge, which is extensive.”
While packaging used to mean long runs these days there is a lot of ver- sioning. Wissmann says, “The Heidelberg Push to Stop concept on its presses meets this requirement, with fast changeover meaning mul- tiple versions of the same job can be produced quickly and efficiently, with quality of offset.”
Push to Stop sees simultaneous makeready on various parts of the press, slashing downtime.
Heidelberg has just launched a ver- satile new B1 press, the Speedmaster CX 104, with package printing one of
its key applications, and has a new version of its flagship XL106 press specifically designed for in-mould and wet-glue label printing. It has also just launched a new rotary die cutting unit.
It comes with a number of signifi- cant enhancements, including intel- ligent assistance, a new coating unit, and innovations in inking and dampening, all of which, says Heidelberg, will take productivity to new levels.
Heidelberg describes the coating unit as “a quantum leap” saying a time saving of up to 75 per cent based on one-person operation has already been confirmed under real-life condi- tions by pilot customers. It says the new coating blanket cylinder will make changing coating forms easier and up to 25 per cent faster.
The CX 104 has free scalability, which extends all the way through
With Heidelberg’s Prinect workflow, offset presses, Gallus label presses, folder gluers, and die cutters, packaging printers have all they need.”
ABOVE: Package printing is a key application of Heidelberg’s new Speedmaster
CX 104.