A Look Back: Durst Digital Days 2015 for Labels and Packaging

Durst, a specialist in industrial inkjet applications, presented the latest developments in label printing for the label and packaging industry from April 14 to 16 at "Digital Days 2015" in Brixen, Italy. More than 150 participants from three continents participated in the three-day event. Helmuth Munter, segment manager of Durst Labels and Package Printing, led the varied program of events, which included guest speakers from Rako Etiketten, TLF Graphics, Sunjet and Spartanics. The main focus was on digital advancements with the Tau 330, new applications with low-migration inks and workflow automation with the laser finishing system. Another focus was digital market potential in the packaging industry, followed by a look ahead to Labelexpo Europe 2015.

"We are overwhelmed by the response and the large number of participants and see this as confirmation of the digital growth potential for label printing," said Munter. "In 2009, we began adapting inkjet technology for label printing and today have the most successful UV inkjet label printing system on the market, the Tau 330. We're not limiting our efforts to printing technology, though. We're also developing complete production lines with our partners Sunjet and Spartanics to make new applications and a high degree of automation possible. This opens up the full potential of digital inkjet technology to our customers, technology which offers a lot more than conventional printing processes."

According to a current Pira study, UV label printing is about to hit an immense growth spurt. While global turnover for labels was around $1.8B in 2013, this number is expected to grow by 250 to 300 percent over the next five years. This will be possible not only due to growth in traditional areas such as labeling, safety and advertising, but primarily as a result of new applications in primary and secondary packaging for food, cosmetics and medication.

In his presentation, Rick Hulme, global sales and product manager at Sunjet demonstrated the potential of low-migration inks for UV printing. In close partnership with Durst, Sunjet has developed high-pigmented UV inks which comply with the various different migration rules of the European Union, Swiss Ordinance, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Japanese Food Sanitation Law and Chinese Packaging Regulation, as well as the directives of the European Printing Ink Association (EUPIA) and the American NAPIM. The complexity of low-migration inks also takes into account the various different forms of migration, i.e. penetration, contact, evaporation and condensation, as well as the different packaging materials used.

The automation of production processes also contributes to the growth potential of UV printing. In his presentation, Mike Bacon, vice president of sales and marketing at Spartanics commented on successful cooperation with Durst in the development of an inline laser finishing system for the Tau 330. The complete system marketed as the Tau 330 LFS offers automatic end-to-end processing, from printing to the final die-cut product. The die-cut shape is created automatically by the DFE software and sent to the laser finishing system with the printing data at the same time. Using a barcode, which is output with the printing order, the system selects the correct shape and automatically produces the die for the corresponding job.

As the first user of the Tau 330 LFS, US-based TLF Graphics shared its experiences with the end to-end system. Bob McJury, vice president of sales and marketing at TLF Graphics in Rochester, NY, was enthusiastic about the professional installation and initiation phase. The decision to acquire the Tau 330 LFS was made in November of 2014, and by that December, the new system was installed and the team was trained. In January, TLF Graphics was already carrying out production. McJury presented a host of products made of coated and uncoated materials produced with the Tau 330 LFS to event participants. He drew special attention to image quality, durability and scratch resistance, which are important quality features in industrial labeling, product decoration and trade. Click here to read more about TLF Graphics.

Source: Durst.