In the run-up to the European Labelexpo held earlier this year, I had expected that inkjet presses using water-based inks would feature heavily, but this proved not to be the case. Nonetheless, there were several inkjet label presses shown with aqueous inksets.
Perhaps the most noteworthy of these came from Screen, which showed off a prototype called the TruePress Label 520AQ. This is a single-engined press based on the existing TruePress Jet 520HD. As such, it has a print width up to 520mm, which is much wider than needed for packaging but does fit with a general move toward wider widths to cope with more packaging work.
Osamu Yamagata, president of Screen Europe, explained, “We are just trying to show that this technology could be used for label production. So this is just to see the market reaction.” In theory, adapting an existing press should allow Screen to save a lot of time and cost in developing a new solution. Screen has already tried this with the Pac 520P, which was based on the 520NX, though in the end, this did need further development before coming to market.
Still, Screen has learnt lessons from this and is hoping for a much smoother introduction this time around. The 520 AQ runs Screen’s SC+ ink, which was originally designed to eliminate the need for priming when printing to offset coated papers. It works with inkjet-treated uncoated paper stocks as well as PP and BOPP, though these do have to be treated. It has room for five color channels and runs at 100mpm on a 508mm print width with 1200 dpi resolution. As Yamagata noted, “The market is looking for more speed and more productivity.”
Peter Scott, managing director of Screen GP Australia, explains, “This is a technology exhibit. We have an existing technology that we can repurpose for different applications, so we are just seeing how the market reacts. And from what we have seen so far, it’s going to be a winner.” He says that many customers are seeing demand for longer runs, so the 520AQ could be a viable alternative to investing in a flexo press. He adds, “It’s good quality at 1200 dpi. You don’t need an experienced operator, and it’s easy to train for, and you can add a varnish. So the feedback has been very positive.”
Epson SurePress L5034
Epson showcased its new SurePress L5034, which was seen as a prototype at drupa and at the Tokyo Label Forum in 2024, and is now available to order, with installations expected to start in January 2026. It builds on Epson’s water-based resin ink technology but is designed to be faster than the existing presses at 13.5mpm, without sacrificing any of the image quality. The increase in speed is largely due to using an optimizer with the ink. It prints CMYK plus orange and green.
It uses a proprietary printhead based on Epson’s own PrecisionCore design. The press uses an Epson printhead, a variant on the D3000 PrecisionCore with a native 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution. James Haisman, business development manager for Epson Industrial Label and Textile in Australia, adds, “There’s more automation in the press, including a nozzle verification system to check for missing nozzles, and we have extremely good remote diagnostics. We have made it more customer-friendly in terms of maintenance.”
He says that the food market is an obvious target because the ink is seen to be environmentally friendly, adding, “It’s perfect for wine labels. We are finding that there are several niche markets like cosmetics where quality is paramount, and there are very short production runs.”
Marc Tinckler, head of product marketing for Epson Europe, says, “We are looking for those people who want to do high-quality with water-based inks.” The first installation in Europe will be at EAP Mézière in France in January, while the first Chinese customer to sign for one is Suzhou LVMAN Digital Technology. Meanwhile, the Japanese packaging OSP Group, which consists of nine companies in Japan and a further seven abroad, has said that it will roll out the L5034 across its production network.
Tadashi Matsuguchi, President and CEO of OSP Group, explained, “After extensive evaluation, we selected the SurePress L5034 to standardize high-quality, colour-accurate label production across our global sites. The L5034’s water-based inks, expanded color set, and robust web handling give us the productivity and brand fidelity we need to support our customers worldwide.”
Miyakoshi MJP14 LXA
Miyakoshi is also looking at this market and showed off a prototype label press, the MJP14 LXA, with a view to listening to feedback from visitors and potential customers. This can run at 80mpm, making it one of the fastest aqueous ink narrow web presses that have been shown so far. This also represents a considerable leap forward on Miyakoshi’s current inkjet label press, the MJP13 LXV, which runs at 50mpm using LED UV curing ink.
The MJP14 will take substrates from 200 to 370mm wide, with a maximum print width of 357mm. Drying is via a hot air drum. The print resolution is 1200 x 1200 dpi. For now, it will only print to paper-based substrates, but Miyakoshi plans for it to also print to film-based media by the time it is ready for a commercial launch.
The MJP14 LXA has a very compact footprint, just 4.6m long and 2.7m wide. It was shown in a roll-to-roll configuration, though it can be customized to run inline with other devices as needed. The press won’t be available until around October 2026, which should be just in time for next year’s event in America.
Canon had scheduled this year’s show for the commercial launch of its LabelStream 2000, which was last seen in Europe as a prototype at Drupa 2024. This press uses a new Canon thermal printhead with a new inkset based on Canon’s Colorgrip technology. It has a 340mm width and should produce around 40mpm. However, Canon appears to be a year behind, with the launch now slated for next year’s Loupe USA show. Edoardo Cotichini, Canon Europe’s senior marketing manager for labels and packaging, says the delay is down to testing for the full range of label materials, with the decision taken to leave the press in the R&D lab in Tokyo to continue this testing.
I think it’s worth noting that although vendors from many countries exhibited at Labelexpo, all four of these aqueous ink presses are Japanese, and all four offer 1200 dpi resolution. In my experience, the Japanese market is more sensitive to environmental concerns, as well as demanding higher than average print quality.
Only one of these presses is close to shipping, the Epson Surepress L5034, with Canon also in the final stages of testing, while both Screen and Miyakoshi are still at the prototype stage. Nonetheless, I think it’s inevitable that we will hear a lot more about aqueous inkjet label printing in 2026.
