To strengthen the competitiveness of its customers, Koenig & Bauer acquired all activities related to the Instrument Flight measurement and control technology for new sheetfed offset presses and inline measurement technology from System Brunner in December 2025, fully integrating them into its own portfolio.
While the solution was previously available as an OEM product, further development and support are now entirely in the hands of the press manufacturer. In doing so, Koenig & Bauer has secured an absolute unique selling point in sheetfed printing: while conventional systems primarily regulate individual density values, Instrument Flight also evaluates and controls the overprinting of process colors – and thus visual perception – using grey balance and other parameters.
With Instrument Flight, Koenig & Bauer offers its customers unique added value for professional colour management in printing. Print service providers using the feature on their sheetfed offset presses report significantly shorter color matching processes and, at the same time, consistent color results throughout the entire print run.
For existing customers and new users, there is a further advantage: service, training, and technical development all come from a single source.
Less waste, more stable production
For printing companies, Instrument Flight is much more than just another software solution. In addition to achieving colour and ink densities, the central challenge in the modern pressroom is maintaining colour and grey balance throughout the entire run.
“While previously only individual solid-density control was common, Instrument Flight enables control within colour regulation based on technical and visual parameters. The fascinating part, however, is the automatic inline regulation according to printing standards,” says Christian Ziegenbalg, chief design engineer at Koenig & Bauer Paper & Packaging Sheetfed Systems, describing the core benefit of the technology.
By prioritizing extensive measurement parameters alongside visual criteria, the system detects and corrects optical deviations that standard color control systems on the market cannot identify. The result is drastically higher consistency in color impression, even when external process parameters such as paper, ink, or dampening solution fluctuate. For the customer, this translates directly to the profit and loss account: less waste during job changes and more stable production phases allow users to print for longer before blankets need washing.
A powerful tool for reproducible, top quality
The incorporation of Instrument Flight technology into the Koenig & Bauer portfolio also opens the door for deeper technical integration. Via the proven Instrument Flight star system, the quality achieved remains easy for press operators to understand and transparent at all times; it also makes it child’s play to comply with and verify standards and control metrics such as PSO, FOGRA, or G7.
Markus Weiß, CEO of Koenig & Bauer Paper & Packaging Sheetfed Systems, said, “Today’s market no longer forgives inefficiencies. Our customers must reduce waste, minimise make-ready times, and simultaneously deliver the highest reproducible quality. With the full integration of Instrument Flight technology, we are putting the most powerful tool on the market directly into their hands. We don’t just deliver the machine; from now on, we provide maximum process reliability for perfect colour stability from a single source.”
Daniel Würgler, managing owner of System Brunner, adds, “In recent years, we have continuously developed our Instrument Flight technology based on extensive practical experience and specifically tailored it to Koenig & Bauer’s measurement technology. Increasing sales success and positive feedback from users confirm this strategy.”
With a view to the future market environment, there are clear advantages when technology, support, and further development come from one source. “System Brunner will continue to support Koenig & Bauer with its expertise in the further development of Instrument Flight technology as required,” says Würgler.
