Like most nascent technologies, digital print is a hotbed of innovation, with countless R&D hours being poured into developing higher speed, wider web presses, achieving single pass production and improving colour consistency.
But how much time is being invested in the more mature conventional processes of flexo and litho printing? Are there any advances still to be made or have these technologies come to the end of the R&D road?
"Definitely not," is Edale technical director Steve Jordan's unequivocal retort to this suggestion. "Flexography has come along in leaps and bounds in recent years. Anilox, ink and plate technologies are all advancing rapidly and introducing new technologies, alongside the sophistication and print qualities of the print machinery itself," he says.
Craig Moran, zone business director for Bobst, makes a similar point. "Printing is a system. Yes, the machine is very much at the heart of it but it is important that we work with the suppliers of anilox rolls, repro systems, driers, substrates and inks to make sure we understand the latest developments in their fields. Only? that way can we continue to make the most of the capabilities of our presses."
It is probably true to say, therefore, that most innovation in conventional flexo printing is coming from harnessing improvements in inks, plates, substrates and drying technologies. Interestingly, Edale's Jordan thinks that the digital revolution has had a positive effect on flexo technology, fuelling rather than killing innovation.
"I believe further advancements in the efficiency and print quality of conventional machines can be made, and we are seeing a lot of changes happening already. The threat of upcoming digital processes means there is a need to close the gap between the two technologies," he explains.
To this end, Jordan says his company has been using 'Spotless' plate technologies, which mean the majority of jobs can be run using a four-colour process. With over 90% of Pantone colours achieved, this eradicates the additional plate, ink and cylinder costs.
"Flexo has previously only been thought of as suiting long runs but with these advancements in quick changeovers and quick inking, flexo is now as cost effective on short to medium runs as it is on long," says Jordan.
Danish narrow web specialist Nilpeter has also been working on making its flexo presses more attractive for short runs.
"We have become very lean and reduced the breakeven point in relation to digital," says marketing and sales director Jakob Landberg. "The narrow web industry excels in its ability to combine more printing techniques and converting systems – all in line. This enables value-added short run packaging."
The fruits of Nilpeter's labour can be seen in the FA-4 sleeve-based flexo press, which has an extra short web path, allowing fast job changeovers with minimum start up waste. With a top speed of 175m per minute, it is designed to produce short runs of labels and flexible packaging.
Bobst, meanwhile, has been focusing on making the flexo printing process as productive and cost effective as possible. Moran says presses like its FFG 618 and DRO 924 NT, which print and convert boxes in one pass, are helping packaging manufacturers protect their margins on existing work and enter new markets.
While one response to growing competition from digital has been to make flexo processes more cost effective and efficient, particularly for shorter runs, another has been to widen the quality gap that already exists between the two technologies.
According to Moran, improved technology over the last six or seven years has seen the development of 'high graphics' post-print in the 100-120 dpi range and, more recently, of 'super high graphics' flexo post-print at around 160dpi, such as the Bobst MasterFlex-HD can deliver.
"This equates to the resolution of litho printed sheets laminated to single face corrugated, or pre-printed liners, but delivers it in a single process, saving cost and time," he says.
It's not just in the world of flexo that press manufacturers are forging ahead with innovation. Matt Rockley, product manager for presses at Heidelberg UK, says: "Litho is still advancing. You only have to think of Prinect Inpress Control, the automatic colour and register device which has slashed makeready times, or other off-line options like the latest generation Image Control, Axis Control and Easy Control.
"Also there is the Anicolour version of the Speedmaster, to date only available in B3 but now migrating to B2 format. Given its very low run-up waste it will be very popular, particularly with pharmaceutical and label printers for whom board and stock costs make such a difference."
He says developments like these mean litho can compete with digital from runs of about 200.
KBA is also able to cite a host of developments that suggest innovation is far from dead in this area of conventional litho printing. Its flagship Rapida 106 now runs at 20,000 sheets per hour (sph) and an extended list of features improve set up times and reduce press waste. In addition, the press can now run VariDry BLUE IR/hot air dryers, which help slash power consumption by up to 50%.
The Rapida 145, which launched at the last Drupa print show,? runs at up to 17,000sph thanks to its optional speed enhancement package and features including the CleanTronic Synchro two-bar system that can wash the inking rollers, blankets and impression cylinders simultaneously during plate changing and CleanTronic ReInk, an ultra-fast washing system for the inking units.
While most of this is incremental rather than radical innovation, there have been some breakthroughs in recent years, one of these being KBA's Varius 80 modular, variable-format waterless webfed press.
"It dramatically reduces makeready and prints on awkward material, giving brand owners the ability to improve shelf shout. It will be ideal for use with foils, ultra thin inserts, labels and wraparounds for high brand products," says KBA UK managing director Andrew Pang.
Goss International's decision to venture into the packaging market with its Vpak range of web offset presses is further evidence that this conventional technology is as attractive as ever to packaging printers. Indeed Goss, whose heritage is in newspaper printing presses, argues that market demands for shrinking runs, higher print quality, shorter lead times and lower costs are creating the right conditions for wider adoption of web offset for folding cartons, flexible packaging and labels.
According to David Muncaster, director of EMEA business development for packaging, while the capital outlay required for web offset can be as much as 40% higher than for flexo or gravure, the investment will quickly pay for itself through lower plate and plate imaging costs.
"Digital press manufacturers will argue there are none of these costs with their presses, but because of the low speed of digital presses only a very small percentage of run lengths fall into the 'micro run' range suitable for digital. The vast majority of run lengths are much better suited to web offset production."
Muncaster concedes that Goss has yet to make a sale into the European packaging industry, but believes this has more to do with the 'lack of a decent test facility' than anything else. He is hopeful that the creation of a new test centre at his company's New Hampshire HQ will overcome this 'roadblock'.
The developments from these press manufacturers shows that despite the barrage of noise from the digital sector, the conventional formats are striking back. It also shows that the two technologies can work hand in hand for most packaging applications.
New printing equipment round-up
Heidelberg has extended its Anicolour inking unit technology to the 50x70cm format, with its Speedmaster XL 75 Anicolour, which comes to market this autumn. The technology results in 90% less paper waste, 50% shorter makeready times, and 50% higher productivity, says Heidelberg.
Designed for day-in day-out production of regular slotted cases (RSCs), Bobst's new FFG 8.20 Expert claims to be the best-in-class equipment for producing simple boxes at the lowest possible cost.
Screen's Truepress Jet L350UV digital UV label press (pictured left) has also just become commercially available following its preview at last year's Drupa. Capable of printing 16.1sqm of labels per minute, it claims to offer 'industry leading' productivity, photo-realistic quality, fast job turnarounds and virtually no daily maintenance.
Labelexpo was the first outing for the MO-5, Nilpeter's new wider, heavier duty addition to its offset platform. Weighing in at 3,600kg, the unit is said to reflect the high performance nature of flexible packaging printing.
Edale has updated its FL-3 label and packaging printing press to improve its productivity. Additional features include dual servo drives for greater substrate flexibility, and a 430mm version is now available alongside the standard 350mm web width. The UK based press manufacturer is also developing the FL-7, a mid-web modular press targeted at packaging printers, with a view to launch in early 2014.
Case study: KBA Rapida 145 large format
Following its launch at Drupa last year, the first KBA Rapida 145 large format press has been installed in the UK at St Neots Packaging Group.
The St Neots Packaging Group is a Cambridgeshire-based food packaging specialist with capabilities in litho and flexo printing. It supplies the retail trade and fast-food and restaurant chains with sandwich packs and kids' meal boxes as well as the accompanying promotional and marketing collateral.
The new high performance sheet-fed offset press is a six-colour unit configuration with coater in the 1060×1450 mm (size six) format. This investment is St Neots' first KBA purchase and the latest step in a drive designed to maintain the momentum of group performance that has seen turnover double to £34m over the past five years.
The Rapida 145 six-colour press with coater replaced a Komori L650+L and, according to KBA, has already yielded production improvements of more than 30% through its superior printing speeds and faster makereadies; with a production speed of 17,000sph, it is claimed to be the fastest large format press in the world. KBA adds that further production improvements are expected to follow next year when the group plans to upgrade post-press lines to process larger sheet formats.
The new large-format Rapida features advanced systems for on-press colour and quality control, LAB measurement systems for client-assured integrity, thick stock options for packaging print and production efficiency technologies, including semi-automatic plate changing, automated self-adjusting sheet in-feed system and non-stop delivery.
While St Neots is the first UK company to take delivery of the Rapida 145, a large number of units are already up and running worldwide.
Chris Scully, sales director for sheetfed presses at KBA, says: "The Rapida 145 has had a major impact since it was launched at Drupa, with more than 40 presses already installed – in commercial operations as well as packaging."
Star Product: Mimaki UJF-6042
On the back of its UJF-3042 LED UV printer for the small format market, at the end of last year, Mimaki extended its digital offering to packaging with the A2 flatbed UJF-6042.
The new LED UV printer offers double the bed size of the UJF-3042 as well as an increase in print resolution, making it suitable for print companies seeking to deliver high quality prints on rigid substrates, according to Hybrid Services, Mimaki's UK and Ireland distributor.
"Over and above the ability to run twice the size of media than the UJF-3042, the increase in quality to 1,800dpi and a minimum variable dot size of 4 picolitres ensures an extremely high print quality that's ideal for proofing as well as production," says Mike Lewis, industrial products sales manager with Hybrid Services.
The press incorporates a ball screw type head conveyance mechanism – traditionally found only in very high-end flatbed printers – which enhances the accuracy of the ink drop placement onto the substrate.
The combination of 1,800dpi and variable dot technology means the printer is engineered to deliver highly accurate prints and the A2 bed size allows two facing pages of an A3 photo book to be printed simultaneously.
The Mimaki UJF-6042 is capable of producing photo quality prints utilising a six colour process, white and clear inks.
When printing to rigid substrates, Mimaki's LH-100 ink incorporates CMYK + white and features, according to the manufacturer, "vibrant colour and excellent adhesion properties". Additionally, the UJF-6042 can be commissioned with Mimaki's LF-100 flexible ink, available in six colours and white, or the highly stretchy LF-200 ink which enables expansion of up to 200%.
Star Product: Epson Surepress L-60343W
This year's Labelexpo saw Epson launch its first industrial press to feature UV ink and PrecisionCore lineheads for single pass printing after previewing a prototype of the press at last year's Drupa.
The Surepress L-6034VW is pitched as the ideal solution for label converters looking to produce short to medium runs of high quality labels on standard film and paper label substrates between 80 and 340mm wide.
Epson says the new press complements its Surepress L-4033AW label press and gives the market a choice of technologies and functionality. The seven-colour Surepress L-4033AW aqueous inkjet digital label press is best suited to printing premium quality, ultra-short-run labels, especially on uncoated and textured paper, whereas the SurePress L-6034VW is a higher productivity, single-pass press for short to medium volumes.
"The launch of the SurePress L-6034VW puts us in the unique position of offering two very different presses with two different inksets," says Duncan Ferguson, director, ProGraphics, Epson Europe.
The SurePress L-6034VW gives users the flexibility to print high-opacity white ink first or last to boost image impact on clear and metallic substrates and to expand the variety of labels that can be produced. The press also includes a digital varnish feature that enables users to save time and cost by applying matte, gloss and even a combination of both in patterned or selective spot varnish effects during printing.
The new PrecisionCore linehead is the key component behind the machine's high performance, reliability, low maintenance and low running costs. Each of the six lineheads in the press comprises 11 PrecisionCore printhead modules that deliver precise quality with fine, multi-size dot control and high native resolution.
