Landa Makes drupa Splash with Quad, Cimpress Partnerships

Landa opened drupa 2016 with a flurry of announcements that demonstrate the transition of the company and its Nanography technology from a proof-of-concept, unveiled at drupa 2012, to a robust line of Nanographic printing presses that address all major print segments. The company has entered into strategic partnerships with Quad/Graphics, the largest publication printer in the U.S., and with Cimpress, the global leader in mass customization and Web-to-print. In addition, Landa announced that it will deploy its presses at beta sites in Europe and the U.S. during 2017, naming its key beta site customers. Landa also announced an ultra-fast perfecting web press designed for publishing and direct mail, which will start shipping in late 2017.

"For more than 20 years, digital printing has excelled as a solution for niche markets. Today's announcements are one big step for Landa — and a giant step for the digital printing industry. With the size and caliber of these customers who will be deploying our Nanographic printing presses, and the volumes of digital print that they will produce across the globe, we can truly say that digital printing is becoming mainstream," says Benny Landa, chairman of the Landa Group.

Strategic Cooperation with Leading Print and Marketing Services Provider

Quad/Graphics will strategically collaborate with Landa on bringing Landa Nanographic printing presses to the magazine-quality publication market, focusing on cost-effective digital printing for short-run magazines and journals. Quad/Graphics' Nanographic printing presses will combine commercial lithographic speeds and quality — even on the lightest-weight coated and uncoated papers. Accordingly, Quad/Graphics will be able to offer short-run magazine and journal printing clients more versatile products.

"Landa Nanography has the potential to disrupt the publication market, marrying the power of modern digital technology with today's market needs for highly versioned short-run publications," says Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and CEO of Quad/Graphics. "We are proud to be partnering with Landa to advance cost-competitive digital print technology for the publication market. For 45 years, Quad/Graphics has been committed to advancing our clients' performance through innovation. This collaboration is yet another example of our steadfast commitment to finding a better way for our clients, ourselves and our industry."

Benny Landa also adds, "Some 20 years ago, when visiting Quad/Graphics, I was inspired by Harry Quadracci's humanity and struck by his vision. Today we are thrilled to be partnering with Quad/Graphics, which, under Joel Quadracci's leadership, has become the preeminent force in the publishing market — and continues to be a company of both soul and vision.

He continues, "We share the company's vision of finding a better way, a digital way, to create printed publications. The publishing industry is about to change, to undergo a digital transformation, starting with short-run magazines and journals. No one is better positioned than Quad to work with us in bringing about that change. We, at Landa, are delighted to be partnering with Quad in writing the next chapter — the digital chapter — in the history of publishing."

Cimpress to Partner with Landa in Nanographic Printing Press Deal

Cimpress N.V. and Landa Digital Printing have announced that the companies will partner to jointly specify customized Landa S10P (perfecting) Nanographic printing presses. Subject to successful completion of beta testing, Cimpress intends to purchase up to 20 Landa presses for deployment worldwide. Cimpress is the global leader in mass customization, and the world's largest Web-to-print player.

The Landa S10P (perfecting) Nanographic printing press

The deal, which could become the commercial printing industry's largest-ever digital printing transaction, is part of a broad strategic cooperation between Landa and Cimpress. Landa's ultra-fast Nanographic printing presses are seen as a great fit to meet the Web-to-print giant's growing need for high-quality, high-volume mass customization. Cimpress' highly automated, computer integrated manufacturing facilities expects to employ the Landa S10P B1 (41") perfecting presses to move mainstream jobs from offset to digital printing. The Landa S10P digital press prints on any off-the-shelf paper at up to 13,000 sph.

"Cimpress looks forward to deploying Landa Nanography because we see it as a breakthrough technology that could enable us to transform our mainstream printing that we currently produce with offset presses. It is uniquely suited to a global technology and manufacturing-driven company like our own," says Robert Keane, president and CEO, Cimpress. "We aggregate, via the Internet, large volumes of individually customized orders for a broad spectrum of print, signage, and other products. Nanography combines quality, speed, substrate-independence and print cost to create a major competitive advantage."

Benny Landa, chairman of the Landa Group, also adds, "This partnership is a tremendous opportunity for both our companies. For more than 20 years, digital printing has excelled as a solution for niche or low run-length markets. The Cimpress deal is one big step for Landa, but a giant step for the digital printing industry. With the volumes of digital print that Cimpress could produce across the globe on Nanographic printing presses, we can finally say that digital printing is truly becoming mainstream."

Beta Site at Germany's Leading Folding Carton Specialist
colordruck Baiersbronn, Germany's leading folding carton specialist will be Landa's first customer in Europe for the Landa S10 Nanographic printing press. The leading German folding carton specialist will be a beta site and use Landa Nanography as a driver of future business growth.  The Landa S10 press will be central to the company's new purpose-built, highly-automated 3,000-square-meter digital packaging facility. It will fulfill a variety of customer packaging requirements, from mass customization packaging, individual and small orders, to mock-ups and test market campaigns.

Landa S10 at drupa 2016

Engineered for the packaging and converting industries, the Landa S10 Nanographic printing press enables mainstream packaging productivity with plate-free, offset print quality. The Landa S10 press prints up to 13,000 B1 (41 in. / 1,050 mm) sph on off-the-shelf cartonboard ranging in thicknesses from 2.4-32 mil (60-800 μm).

All Landa Nanographic printing presses use water-based Landa NanoInk colorants that are engineered to meet a variety of European and other international standards relating to indirect food contact.

"We chose the Landa press because we believe that Landa Nanography will be the future of print and the future growth driver for colordruck Baiersbronn," relays Frank Buesching, managing director. "As economic pressures make themselves felt, brands of all sizes are actively looking to reduce costs, and ideally, print only what they need, when they need it. They also want the production flexibility to better react to market trends with packaging that reflects not only planned and seasonal campaigns, but also special messaging or promotions. To meet these requests, we decided to invest in a Landa S10."

Buesching continues, "To operate successfully across different packaging disciplines, we must have the technical capability to deliver first-class print, every time, consistently, cost effectively and at a price the customer is willing to pay," says Buesching. "Our new digital packaging division-with the Landa S10 press at its heart is a totally unique capability that our customers will love, and one that will provide us with a huge competitive advantage. With this revolutionary service, we expect to see sales growth in Germany and other European countries."

Benny Landa comments, "We are extremely excited to have colordruck Baiersbronn as our first European installation for the Landa S10 press. Frank and his team are great visionaries in packaging print and converting and have built an impressive facility, employing the industry's most cutting-edge automation. They have a profound understanding of what it will take to stay competitive-and how to lead in their markets. We look forward to partnering with colordruck Baiersbronn and to being a key part of their new digital journey."

Beta Site at Large Pan-European Commercial Printer
Elanders, the Swedish headquartered global print and packaging supplier, will be the first beta customer for the Landa S10P Nanographic printing press with perfector. The press will be installed at Elanders' facility in Waiblingen, Germany, for the production of short- to medium-run two-sided general commercial printing, including advertising pieces, catalog production, direct mail and high-end magazines.

"Since the Landa S10P press prints at speeds up to 13,000 sph — five times faster than our existing digital presses — it will let our customers more quickly meet market opportunities for high-quality, double-sided printed items, with or without personalization," says Peter Sommer, executive VP, CEO Elanders Europe. "The Landa S10P perfectly complements our existing digital and analog technologies and will unlock considerable new business growth."

Sommer also adds, "Our new Landa S10P will be instrumental in meeting customer requirements for increased production flexibility. Our customers will now be able to order exactly what they want at a cost they can afford — this is the service breakthrough the market has been waiting for."

Commenting on Elanders as a Beta site, Benny Landa, says, "We are very excited to have Elanders, one of the most innovative companies in our industry, as a beta for the Landa S10P press. It is particularly gratifying to again be working with Peter Sommer, a true digital printing pioneer. We at Landa are delighted to play a role in Elanders' worldwide digital growth and continuing market leadership."

Beta Site at North American's Leading POP and In-Store Signage Provider
Imagine!, North America's leading provider of large-scale point-of-sale displays and instore signage, will be a beta site for the Landa S10 Nanographic printing press, Landa's single-sided B1 (41 in. / 1,050 mm) press. The press will be installed at Imagine!'s facility in Minneapolis, and will be predominantly used for POP/POS display work and will eliminate setup waste and be used to create versioned stacks of printed product that will dramatically reduce the high costs associated with fulfillment services.

"We bought this press because of Benny Landa's track record for developing innovative, industry-changing technology," says Craig Mandery, chief business officer at Imagine! "We do not usually chase technology trends, however we believe in Nanography and want to be instrumental in the digital-for-mainstream revolution. The reduced setup costs and improved turnaround times will bring substantial growth to our business."

Commenting on Imagine! as a Beta site, Benny Landa, adds, "Imagine! has an amazing reputation for never saying 'no' to its customers, whom it regards as partners. We are proud to have such a company as our partner in bringing Nanography to the POP/POS and in-store signage markets. Imagine! is a creative and innovative pioneer of in-store marketing solutions and we are delighted to play our part in helping to transition its business from offset to digital."

New Perfecting Press for Publishing and Direct Mail
Landa has announced the Landa W10P Nanographic printing press for high-quality publishing applications such as magazines, journals, catalogs and direct mail. The meter-wide (41") two-sided web press has twin printing engines, each with four to eight colors.

The Landa W10P press prints on virtually any coated or uncoated paper stock, ranging in weight from 30 gsm to cardstock. Since Nanographic Printing creates zero strikethrough, the press produces magazine-quality printing even on the lightest — and cheapest — uncoated papers. Running at 200 meters/minute, it can print over two million magazine pages per 8-hour shift.

The new Landa W10P Nanographic printing press

"Fourteen years of nanotechnology research has enabled us to make tremendous breakthroughs in the quality, speed and cost of digital printing. The Landa W10P Nanographic printing press is up to 24 times faster than any other commercial quality digital press and can print more than two million magazine pages in a single 8-hour shift," says Benny Landa. "The Landa W10P is a technology platform that will help drive business growth and publisher profitability."

Nanography will enable customers to move their mainstream journal and magazine publishing, catalogs and direct mail pages from offset to digital, for a reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved margins. Magazine and journal publishers will leverage the technology's benefits to offer more versatile products and attractive business models. The Landa W10P press will start shipping to customers in late 2017 and will not be shown at drupa 2016.

Live Product Demonstrations and Theater Presentations
Throughout drupa 2016, Landa will conduct live demonstrations of its sheetfed and webfed Nanographic printing presses, including the Landa S10 for folding carton and POP, the Landa S10P perfecting press for commercial printing and the Landa W10 for flexible packaging. Landa will also be demonstrating its newest technology, Nano-Metallography, a zero-waste metallization process that will halve the cost of metallized printing. Landa will hold theater presentations five times a day for the entire duration of the exhibition. Reservations may be booked at kiosks on the Landa stand (Hall 9) during the exhibition.

Landa Nano-Metallography L50 Module

Source: Landa.