Digital Domain — October 2010

Digital technologies and news were at the forefront of Labelexpo Americas 2010. Here is a sampling of digital information of interest to the label printing market coming out of the show.

HP Indigo Installs 1,000th Press
ROSEMONT, Ill.—At the opening of Labelexpo Americas on September 14, HP announced it had achieved a milestone of 1,000 HP Indigo digital presses installed among labels and packaging customers.

"In the 10 years since Indigo and HP signed the first strategic agreement, we have grown our customer base from a small number of pioneers using Indigo technology for label printing to 1,000 HP Indigo presses worldwide using a broad range of labels and packaging applications from HP and our partners," says Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo division, HP. "This includes 130 installations of our higher-volume HP Indigo WS6000 in more than 30 countries.

HP Indigo's exhibit included new capabilities for its digital press portfolio, including:

• Cut-and-stack label and folding carton production on a sheetfed HP Indigo press 5500;

• Extended media gamut capabilities for the high-volume HP Indigo WS6000 digital press;

• An optional dryer for flexible packaging production;

• Technology upgrades for the HP Indigo WS6000 that expand the press's range of compatible media, provide greater color consistency on long runs, and allow for higher levels of utilization; and

• New software and finishing offerings.

Digital Label Systems

ROSEMONT, Ill.—Allen Datagraph Systems Inc. (ADSI) showcased the iTech AXXIS digital Label System and offered a new technology demonstration of the iTech AXXIS Digital Label System for proofing labels in any shape—on-demand.

"Many small-to-medium-sized companies have the need for high-quality labels. However the cost associated with purchasing small quantities of high quality labels is one of the biggest issues these companies have to resolve—while still offering products that are appealing to the consumer at the point of sale. Until the iTech AXXIS Digital Label System, they had only a few options," explains Mark Vanover, VP sales and marketing at ADSI. "They were required to purchase labels in large quantities creating inventory that may never be used, or they paid a high premium for short-run labels—both options decreasing their profitability. Their last option was to use inferior pre-cut label solutions. Based on feedback from our customers, the iTech AXXIS Digital Label System represents a paradigm-shift in label manufacturing by offering a complete table-top label production system, printing high-quality labels at a low cost/label to produce."

The iTech AXXIS Digital Label System comprises both the iTech AXXIS Digital Label Printer and a high-resolution roll-fed CMYK print engine featuring variable-droplet technology.

The iTech AXXIS Digital Label Finisher laminates, integrates die-less diecutting, strips, slits, and rewinds to finished rolls of labels.

The complete iTech AXXIS Digital Label System is small enough to fit on a table-top, yet engineered to handle high-productivity throughput. Labelexpo was the first public technology demonstration of the iTech AXXISSR Digital Label System in the world.

LED UV Inkjet System

ROSEMONT, Ill.—On display for the first time, the EFI Jetrion 4830LED UV inkjet system and a newly developed flexible ink set allow printing on unsupported and heat-sensitive materials, including shrink sleeves, opening up new opportunities for label converters in the flexible packaging market. Current and future Jetrion 4830 users can upgrade their presses to use the flexible ink set by retrofitting their systems with LED lamp technology.

The Jetrion 4830 prints 8.3˝ wide, enabling two-up and four-up labels. The wider print zone allows label converters to take on more print jobs efficiently. It can also print at 120 fpm.

Digital Printing Press Makes U.S. Debut

ROSEMONT, Ill.—Domino recently debuted its N600 inkjet press. The company claims it runs at speeds that deliver 50 percent higher productivity than any comparable printer on the market—246 fpm with three grayscales or 164 fpm with four. Nominal print resolution is 1,200 dpi (native 600 dpi) and the printer is compatible with a wide range of PE and PP label stocks, thanks in part to the use of durable UV inks.

According to David Ellen, senior vice president, Digital Printing Solutions at Domino North America, while the vast majority of labels are flexo-printed, the benefits of digital—simplified workflows and increased customer responsiveness through fast turnaround and easy customization of jobs—mean that migration is both desirable and inevitable.

"The Domino value proposition is very clear in this context," comments Ellen. "There is a large market for four-color labels where the N600 delivers twice the productivity of other digital presses due to its high speed print engine. Combine this with utter simplicity of operation and reliability and you have the formula for very rapid return on investment."

Prism and Xeikon 
Expand Partnership

ROSEMONT, Ill.—At Labelexpo Americas, Prism, a provider of management information systems for converters and commercial printers, and Xeikon, a digital color printing innovator, announced an expansion of their partnership worldwide.

"Prism has customers, market penetration, and supporting sales and service offices around the world," says Filip Buyse, Prism's president and CEO. According to Buyse, "Xeikon's reputation in the labels marketplace fits well with Prism's experience and customer base around the world. We suspected this expansion would be inevitable when we tested the partnership in North America last year, and we are happy to announce it today."

Through bi-directional, real-time communication between Xeikon's X-800 Digital Front-End and Prism's MIS software, label converters are able to manage mission-critical aspects of their business, such as job quoting and costing through production planning, inventory management, materials ordering, sales order processing, and financial accounts.

For Michael Ring, president of Xeikon North America, "The expansion of our relationship globally is a validation of what we always thought was possible here in the Americas. Label converting processes are only as cost efficient and effective as the workflows that support them. In digital printing, there are tremendous opportunities to tightly integrate business workflow with production, and Xeikon and Prism are achieving this through their open interfaces using JDF."

Digital Label Printer

ROSEMONT, Ill.—CSAT America LLC introduced its Model ITS 600 digital label printer to the North –American market at Labelexpo –Americas 2010.

The unit incorporates drop-on-demand (DOD) technology providing fast, high-quality on-demand printing. It prints in full color at speeds up to 150 fpm, with true 600 dpi and 2 point fonts. It prints on paper, films, and foils with superior ink adherence and durability. Economical and environmentally friendly, the LED UV curing results in low energy consumption. DOD technology maximizes ink use and minimizes wasted ink. Print accuracy with print-to-print registration of less than 0.001˝ and color registration of less than 0.005˝. CSAT's web retract feature reduces material waste and leaves no unprinted material. pP