Durst, a specialist in industrial inkjet applications, presented the latest developments in label printing for the label and packaging industry from 14 to 16 April 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 programme 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 on 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 Helmuth Munter, segment manager of labels and package printing at Durst Photo technik.
Market trends and low-migration inks
According to a current Pira study, UV label printing is about to hit an immense growth spurt. While global turnover for labels was around US$ 1.8 billion in 2013, this number is expected to grow by 250 to 300% over the next five years.
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 National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM).
Automation of production processes
The automation of production processes also contributes to the growth potential of UV printing. In his presentation, Mike Bacon, VP of sales and marketing at Spartanics commented on cooperation with Durst in the development of an in-line laser finishing system forthe Tau 330. The complete system marketed as the Tau 330 LFS offers automatic end-to-end processing, from printing to the final diecut product. The diecut 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.
A look ahead to Labelexpo Europe 2015
At the Labelexpo Europe 2015 trade show, Durst will be presenting a completely new Tau 330 system with all the new innovations, such as the large unwinding and rewinding units for roll lengths up to 4,000 running meters. To make entry into the world of UV printing attractive to smaller label manufacturers as well, Durst is also planning to introduce a more cost-effective version of the Tau 330 printing system. The Tau330Ewillfeature the same print quality, but a smaller set of features and options.
