PrintWeekMENA

Industry leaders unite at Labelexpo Europe 2025

Gallus Group, a subsidiary of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG), is the leading company in the development, production, and sale of conventional and digital narrow-web and reel-fed presses for the label printing industry. Today, it is celebrating its 100th anniversary by opening its doors to a brand-new industry hub in St. Gallen, Switzerland – the Gallus Experience Center – which is designed to serve as an industry touchpoint for customers, industry experts, stakeholders and members of the public, to drive market transformation. Importantly, Gallus is also utilizing its centenary celebrations to announce the launch of three new products across its portfolio: the HEIDELBERG Customer Portal, the new Gallus One with Converting, and a digital upgrade to the company’s successful Gallus ECS 340. With the 100-year milestone also marking its official opening, the landmark new Gallus Experience Center will welcome customers and prospects from some of the world’s leading printers and converters, as well as partners and brand owners, as part of the company’s ‘Gallus Experience Days’. Dedicated to the ‘digital transformation’ of the label and narrow-web industry, the Center aims to facilitate the industry’s future success by fostering collaboration to drive innovation and sustainability. Whether you are a manufacturer, supplier, converter, printer, or brand, you are invited to use the new facility to explore ideas, test and develop new technologies, and teach and experience a technological ecosystem. In addition, Gallus will use the facility to showcase conventional, hybrid, and digital Gallus products, software, and cloud-based solutions, nextgeneration machines being produced, and supplier partner technologies. “As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Gallus, HEIDELBERG is delighted to stand alongside the Gallus team this week – united, as one Group. Together, we are even stronger, and have a robust growth plan looking ahead,” comments Dr. Ludwin Monz, CEO, HEIDELBERG. “With labels and packaging now representing 50 percent of the Group's total sales, the new digital and automated solutions we see introduced by Gallus today play an important role in the future of HEIDELBERG. As a result, Gallus is an important pillar within the company’s growth strategy, and we’re more committed than ever to its long-term future.” With annual growth of over 2 percent in global print volumes, packaging printing is one of the strongest growth areas in the printing industry. Together with label printing, it is an important core area for HEIDELBERG. In line with its dual-track strategy, HEIDELBERG is also focusing on growth in digital printing. This technology is used in label production, for example, which offers some of the greatest growth opportunities in the printing industry. One third of all labels worldwide are already printed digitally today. Digital printing is thus driving change in this promising market segment, with inkjet growth of around 6 percent a year. HEIDELBERG intends to expand its position here with the Gallus One. Dario Urbinati, CEO, Gallus Group, comments: “We are committed to being in touch with the market and forecasting, and then responding to, likely trends that could impact our customers and brands. As a result, Gallus and HEIDELBERG are committed to leading the new digital transformation – driving ‘smart, connected printing’ to unlock revolutionary levels of production automation and manufacturing efficiencies. Key to solving the labor issues of today, this will enable customers to reduce costs and increase both profitability and sustainability. What’s more, utilizing our new Gallus Experience Center, we have a team devoted to exploring new technologies/processes – such as artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0 – that could be integrated into labels and packaging to better inspire and engage future generations.” To further drive the labels and packaging ‘digital transformation’ and help solve current labor shortages and increases in costs, Gallus is today also unveiling a revolutionary new HEIDELBERG Customer Portal (HCP) that automates almost every customer touchpoint. In an industry first, future iterations of the solution will also provide predictive capabilities utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to provide recommendations to increase productivity, reduce maintenance, and boost profitability. The new platform is expected to save customers, on average, up to 35 percent in both time and money. Further increasing its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) advantage for label production, Gallus is additionally using the event to launch its new Gallus One with Converting. This solution brings everything inline and features a digital printer with an inline flexo station, a semi-rotary die cutter that can change a job within one minute and process up to 70m per minute, and vision inspection systems to ensure the highest level of quality and minimize waste. The company is also announcing the option to upgrade an existing Gallus ECS 340 flexo press with a digital printing unit (DPU), transforming it into a Gallus Labelfire 340 hybrid press, but without the additional platform investment. This means that customers are now able to access all the flexibility and versatility of digital printing, with the reliability and precision of conventional printing and further processing technology.The new Gallus products being launched are the result of a comprehensive consultation process with customers and brands. After discovering that the next generation of retail consumers engages with the world in a completely different way, and in light of demographic challenges and other macro trends that are adding new and considerable short-term and long-term business challenges for converters, Gallus rewrote its vision and mission statements to support a new business direction. Dario Urbinati concludes: “We are thrilled to welcome so many friends and colleagues this week to help celebrate our centenary in business, and to have the opportunity to share our exciting new products and thank the many amazing people within our business who have worked so hard to support us, as well as our incredible portfolio of customers. But this week is as much about the next 100 years and what we do next. This is why we’re excited to look beyond the graphic arts toward other industries – learning from how they’ve leveraged new technologies to welcome in the new digital age and cater to the next generation – so that we can modernize the labels and packaging industry and further increase our future success.”

Editor in News July 6, 2023

Industry leaders unite at Labelexpo Europe 2025

In a world where uncertainty feels like the only certainty, amid headlines dominated by global conflicts, economic unrest, and supply chain disruptions, it can be tempting to pull back, play it safe, and wait for stability to return. But four industry leaders believe this is exactly the time to lean in. At Labelexpo Europe 2025 in Barcelona, Martin Automatic, ETI Converting, LemuGroup, and Lundberg Tech will be showcasing a live production line that embodies not only technical excellence but also a shared commitment to something much greater - the shared values of excellence and customer focus that transcends the cultures of four companies, four countries, four languages and four technical, commercial and marketing departments to bring to Labelexpo Barcelona 2025 a show within a show. Visit hall 4, booths D27, D29, D35 and D37 and witness cutting-edge non-stop web-automation; the best coating and laminating, the best label converting machinery and the best automated label matrix waste handling available today working together as one integrated entity. The focus: Giving converters choices in best-in-class performance without compromise and without fear. “Our strategy has always been to lead with original designs and provocative, but well-managed goals, to deliver results that surpass expectations or even the imagination of the industry” states Gavin Rittmeyer, VP/Sales & Marketing for Martin Automatic. “Together, Martin, ETI, LemuGroup, and Lundberg Tech are demonstrating, in real time and in the most difficult of circumstances, what no one else has dared, or dreamed of doing – creating label stock and converting it live, at a European trade show!” In this new project for Labelexpo Europe 2025, each partner company contributes its own area of expertise. From Martin’s unwinders to ETI’s coating, lamination and die-cutting, Lundberg Tech’s automated matrix handling and finally the GTU Glue turret rewinder and LemuGroup’s UltraCompact, where the roll is converted, packed, and palletized automatically. “LemuGroup has always had a clear vision, to offer customers the best technology on the market. We understand the need for companies to achieve fully integrated and automated processes and that is where we focus our efforts. With this collaboration, we are showcasing more than just technology, we are proving that it’s possible to deliver solutions built with the best modules on the market. We want to pass on to the customer the same confidence we have in this project. Running a real production line in such a demanding environment as a trade show is a challenge, but also an opportunity to demonstrate the level of integration, automation and reliability we can deliver,” reports Iñaki Larrea, CEO of LemuGroup. President of ETI Converting Maxime Bayzelon added: “This collaboration is about giving converters real freedom. The freedom to build the production line they need, with the technologies they trust, and without compromising on performance. By joining forces with Martin, LemuGroup, and Lundberg Tech, we’re showing how non-stop unwinding, coating and laminating, finishing, and end-of-line automation can work as one seamless process. It reflects what converters need most today: the ability to adapt quickly, run efficiently, and grow with confidence. We’re proud of what we’ve built together—and we believe converters will walk away inspired by what they’ll see.” Karsten Kejlhof, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for Lundberg Tech concluded: “At Lundberg Tech, we believe innovation isn’t just about new technology, it’s about creating solutions that solve real-world challenges. At Labelexpo Europe 2025, we’re proud to demonstrate how automated matrix waste handling can ease operators’ daily work and boost overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) in non-stop production environments. Together with ETI Converting, Martin Automatic, and LemuGroup, we’re not just running a line, we’re showcasing what’s possible when expertise, integration, and a shared commitment to performance come together. It’s the same value we deliver to our customers and partners around the world every day.” Visitors to Labelexpo in Barcelona are invited to join ETI, LemuGroup, Lundberg Tech and Martin Automatic in Hall 4, on stands 4D27, 4D29, 4D35 and 4D37.

Industry leaders unite at Labelexpo Europe 2025

How to implement automation in printing operations

It is becoming necessary in printing operations to automate as much as possible to gain efficiencies. But before you begin your planning processes, look at your current state to ensure that you understand how works happen today. Kodak, a global technology company focused on print and advanced materials and chemicals, explains the vital role of automation in printing operations and how to do it properly. Read on. Single system of record that reliably gathers data from business and production systems If you have that system of record, you are in the perfect state to take on end-to-end automation. If you have multiple points of data collection that have never been integrated, there is still a path to automation. Still, your planning may take longer to accommodate identifying the required data and the processes that use them. Standard processes for order taking, job specification, and order management When there are standard processes, planning for automation can leverage them to speed implementation. When the procedures to take orders are different for every sales channel, it is hard to standardize order intake. When the process of capturing job specifications varies by sales team member and orders are managed without a strategic view into machine usage and job deadlines, some work will be required before automating and making those processes more efficient. How many spreadsheets are used to track jobs, components, or processes? Every business has some ad hoc processes tracked on spreadsheets, whiteboards, and notepads to keep mission-critical items front of mind. There is nothing wrong with them, but when they become the sole source of truth about a job or a process, they add risk to production. Some organisations justify using spreadsheets by putting them onto shared-access servers so that all authorized constituents can easily access them. It sounds like a great idea, but over time you may find that copies are sitting on individual desktops, and the shared copy is no longer the reliable source of information. Knowing what you have as you plan for automation will help you size the effort. Moving to that automated environment creates a single system of record that is reliable and can be integrated into adjacent business and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Planning for automation You could find some processes that appear easy to automate, add some new tools, and call that your automation plan, but there is a better path. It starts with knowing what is possible. New options in cloud-based workflows bring the same powerful options to smaller shops as the largest shops enjoy. With minimal investments and immediate implementation, shops with a single digital press can build an efficient workflow that will scale using the same technology as a mid-size shop with a mix of offset and digital devices. And these modern cloud-based production workflow solutions can help in any segment, whether the work you produce is graphically-rich static content or uses data-driven processes to execute variable content targeted to a specific recipient. Today’s automated production workflows are built to integrate MIS and ERP tools, Web-to-Print solutions, and e-commerce options. This approach should be high on your list as you consider automation options because it brings a robust IT infrastructure to the table. Automating individual processes glued together with manual interventions isn’t the accomplishment that brings the most benefit. Considering automation requires a dive into every action involved, from the point of estimation and sale to the final delivery to the customer. Planning is the active event designed to identify the touchpoints and the best approach to reviewing each step, the people involved, and the current tools used. Start by articulating your strategic goals for 2022. You may be looking to expand into a new industry or print segments. Your current workload may require more capacity. You may want to acquire more capabilities, either through buying more equipment, optimising workflows, or buying a company. As you consider your strategic plan, itemize the candidate processes for automation to move you toward those goals. Don’t be surprised if you identify current manual processes as critical roadblocks. Strategic goals are long-term and inform the way the business runs. There will be some work to do to build the bridge from strategy to implementation, and that is where tactical planning becomes essential. Tactical goals are more than solving today’s bottleneck. They work within the strategy to consider implementing new software and processes while keeping production moving. Think of it as changing the tires on a car while it’s in motion. There will be practical concerns as current processes are replaced by automation, including how and when to move off tools that are no longer providing value. Tactics should support the strategic goals and solve the business' specific challenges without adding more hurdles to creating an automated environment. Build the strategic plan for automation to consider the practical implication of automating the current processes, including goals for gaining buy-in from the team members in each department, who may be asked to change how they do their jobs or change positions to accommodate the planned process modifications. Look for onramps to the fully automated business environment for every element in the tactical plan that enables lower cost and higher margins. A part of tactical planning includes your approach to daily operations. To create an efficient environment in 2022, consider a standalone Operational Plan to document the expectations for each department, interface points between departments, and the key performance metrics that will help everyone stay on the strategic course. Automation does not eliminate the need to understand the production touchpoints. The best practice is to document what should happen if you lose access to the automation, too. The last step in planning for automation is to build the appropriate contingency plans. Cloud-based automated workflows protect you from onsite server disruptions and mitigate much of the risk associated with onsite installations when paired with a disciplined backup strategy. What to do next If you plan to automate your print workflow in 2022, look for scalable and easy platforms to integrate with your core business systems. Ensure that your chosen technology partner lets you automate each task within prepress and production and then map those automated tasks together to ensure that each type of job takes the correct journey through each process. Learn your options, and then create a plan that works for you.

admin in News July 22, 2022

Estimable estimators

If they were lucky, the human estimators had an adding machine or desktop calculator to help with the figures. A busy medium-sized printer might have 10 or more full time estimators. Finding and keeping that many specialised estimators could be tricky, as the work was exacting but hardly exciting. Computers were an obvious solution, but the knowledge of how to program for such specialised calculations wasn’t. One of the first UK companies to crack it was what was to become Imprint Business Systems, which is still going strong after 42 years. Today its customers in print and packaging run into the hundreds and many of them have used Imprint systems for at least 25 years. Like most of the early MIS developers, Imprint grew out of the needs of a particular print company, which then used the experience gained to sell to a wider circle or printing and packaging companies. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw a lot of computer estimating start-ups, often with printing company roots. Some of Imprint’s original UK competitors from 40-odd years ago have also survived and prospered independently, such as Optimus (originally Optichrome Computer Systems Ltd, or OCSL), DDS (Accura) and Tharstern, while others were taken over by the ever-expanding EFI empire (such as Prism, Radius, Shuttleworth and Technique). A few others have either merged, or closed, or both. Imprint itself was founded in 1978 by Glennys Bourne and Jonathan Richards. Originally the pair had worked together at the art book printer Shenval Press in Harlow. Richards was general manager, later a director of Shenval, but had learned programming skills at college. Bourne went on to run the nearby Caterpillar Press. Bourne says that the reason for writing the original computer estimating program was a shortage of the trained human variety. “You could not get estimators for love nor money,” she says. So the first estimating program was written to suit the needs of Shenval Press and Caterpillar Press. Bourne saw the potential for Imprint beyond the needs of Shenval and Caterpillar, so the latter was sold to concentrate on the new business. “The Imprint name describes the company well and has stood us well over the years,” says Richards. “As for why the name was chosen, it just seemed a good fit at the time.” Both are still very much involved today. Bourne is CEO, while Jonathan Richards says he’s “allowed to be chairman on high days and holidays”. However, time marches on and their children Will Richards and Nick Bourne have also joined Imprint – the latter now being MD. Today Imprint is based in High Easter, in the countryside between Chelmsford and Bishop’s Stortford, handily close to the M11 and Stansted airport. It employs 16 people in an often overlapping mix of management, programming and customer services roles.

admin in News July 22, 2022

Agfa Avinci CX3200

Avinci CX3200 is 3.2 m wide dye sub textile printer capable of printing on polyester-based textiles What is it? Agfa’s Avinci CX3200 is a highly reliable and convenient soft signage printer that can print directly to fabrics and onto transfer paper. It uses an off-line calendar unit to ensure perfect fixation. Agfa’s dedicated dye sublimation roll-to-roll printer will enable you to create vibrant, high-quality prints on polyester-based fabrics up to 3.2 m wide, including a broad range of in- and outdoor soft signage applications, as well as interior decoration. The Avinci CX3200 boasts a rich color gamut and delivers deep black, perfect solids, accurate spot color mapping and smooth tonal rendering that is particularly noticeable in skin tones. The Avinci inks are characterised by their flexibility, image longevity and outdoor resistance. They offer stable jetting performance and deliver the same high-quality results, batch after batch. An off-line calender unit fixes the color deeply into the structure of the polyester-based fabrics while evaporating the carrier fluid. When was it launched at what are the target markets? It was launched on June 22, 2021, and aimed at soft signage industry, sports wear, fashion industry and home décor. Avinic CX3200 is a 3.2 m wide Dye Sub Textile printer capable of printing on polyester based textiles. Does it replace an earlier product? It replaces the earlier model of DX3200. The Avinci CX3200 is driven by Agfa’s Asanti wide-format workflow software. Color accuracy is provided by the easy-to-use color management. Using their Calibrated Print Mode feature, new media can be calibrated and profiled in less than 15 minutes, after which the new profiles can be used to guarantee print quality. Asanti controls and automates the entire printing process from file intake to finishing, maximising productivity. Its comprehensive integration of file handling, color management and preflighting guarantees smooth and error-free jobs. The web-based Asanti Production Dashboard offers a view on your running production. It summarizes the jobs produced and reports on quantity printed, media usage, ink volumes enabling you to control your production and to manage your print shop optimally. What is the USP? It allows you to print directly on textiles and capable of print on transfer paper media as well. Single person media loading and low inks consumptions are another features. High productivity and a robust design for reliable printing at all times, vibrant prints and a wide color gamut; fine detail rendering; extensive applications scope; low ink consumption; convenient operations and a fast changeover between jobs are another features. Avinci produces good results with a minimum of jetted ink. This low ink consumption is based on Agfa’s renowned Thin Ink Layer technology: a smart combination of particular ink characteristics and our Asanti workflow software algorithms that tune the ink quantities perfectly to the required image quality mode. What training and support are available? Full in house training and support available from Agfa UAE and Belgium. Complete and integrated solution are available for printer, inks, workflow software, worldwide service and applications support. How productive is it? It prints at speed of 250 Sqm per hr on express mode. Being able to print directly to fabric is easy and ideal for fast handling and for special applications such as flags, where print-though is needed. Transfer paper allows for super sharp prints, eliminates any set-off, and limits media waste to a minimum. In addition, it extends the application scope to sportswear and fashion garments, as well as home décor prints on non-coated polyester fabrics. What does it cost? How is it sold? The recommended retail price (RRP) is approximately $220k stand alone printer and requires a separate calendaring unit. How many are in use? Currently, the latest CX3200 are around 11 units around the world. Specifications 3.2m Dye sublimation Printer Kyocera print heads 4 colour printer CYMK Direct to garment capable to print on transfer paper Max speed of 250 sqm Stand alone printer Resolution up to 600 x 1800 dpi Media types: Polyester-based fabrics, or transfer paper used to create banners, indoor wall graphics, shop decoration, outdoor advertising, light boxes, trade show displays, flags and high polyester-based blends “Agfa Avinci CX3200 was launched in June 2021.”

Aug. 2, 2022

Epson – SureColor SC V7000 Flatbed Printer

Epson's first UV large format printer offers exceptional image quality, Shihab Zubair What is it? The SureColor SC-V7000 is Epson's first UV large format printer, offering exceptional image quality. The V7000 is ideal for printing eye-catching retail and outdoor signage, window displays, hoarding panels, packaging, promotional goods, and décor products. It includes Epson’s Micro Piezo printhead with ten newly developed original inks, for accurate colour reproduction for spot and corporate colours. It allows businesses the flexibility to print on a range of media up to 80mm thick including acrylics, polycarbonates, PVC, glass, aluminium, metal, polyester, foam board, styrene, wood and stone. The printhead layout enables simultaneous high-speed printing and, with the 4-zone vacuum system, it offers real flexibility for production environments. When was it launched at what are the target markets? The Epson SureColor SC-V7000 was launched in April 2021 within the Middle East region, building on the success of Epson’s award-winning range of SureColor S Series signage printers. The V7000 allows sign and display makers to expand their portfolio of products, to deliver high quality, fast and reliable results on a variety of different media. Does it replace an earlier product? The SureColor SC-V7000 proudly marks Epson’s entry into the UV flatbed signage print market. As Epson’s first UV large format printer, it provides unique features to differentiate and enhance our offering to the signage market. Every feature of the Epson SureColor SC-V7000 has been designed with the customer in mind. This is a robust and affordable UV LED flatbed signage printer capable of fast and quality printing on a wide range of media – any type of surface, despite the size, thickness, or weight. This is in addition to Epson’s successful product solutions such as the Epson SureColor SC Series of eco-solvent and resin ink printers. For instance, for environmentally friendly organisations, Epson’s SureColor SC-R5010 Series has the capacity to include a resin ink solution, offering print service providers and creative design agencies the ability to produce a wide range of signage in a more sustainable way, without compromising on the results. For a larger ink capacity, Epson offers the SureColor SC-R5010L. What is the USP? The Epson SureColor SC-V7000 provides exceptional image quality, productivity, usability, and safety. With the unique Epson Micro Piezo printhead, the printer has ten newly developed original inks and 3-layer high-speed printing. It helps print with ease and safety with automatic measurement of media thickness, a multi-zone vacuum, and a printhead crash prevent function, Epson Edge Print, proximity sensors. What training and support is available? Epson manufactures all the components for the SureColor SC-V7000, including printheads, inks and software, in order to reach the consistent quality levels that our customers expect. The Epson Cloud Solution PORT is a cloud-based system from where you will be able to monitor equipment across several sites, or several printers across one site, from the production floor or remotely, and assist the control of production. This enables efficient production planning, increased uptime and enhanced support. Epson Production Monitor is part of the Epson Cloud Solution PORT suite of apps and allows you to examine the production status in real-time. If an issue occurs, it can be corrected efficiently with minimal disruption to the print run. How productive is it? The SureColor SC-V7000 enables businesses to print at high speed with a maximum print area of 2.5 metres by 1.25 metres. The printhead layout enables simultaneous high-speed printing, with white ink and varnish, without losing productivity. What does it cost? How is it sold? The recommended retail price (RRP) is around AED 330,563 (US $90,000) and it is sold through authorised partners in the Middle East. How many are in use? Currently two printers have been installed in the UAE, and we are scheduled to install a few more in December and further into 2022. Specifications UltraChrome UV 10-colour inkset Printing resolution of 720 x 1,440 DPI Outstanding print quality High-speed simultaneous printing even when using white, colour and varnish Printheads, ink, firmware and software with an ink tank capacity of 1,000 ml Price from AED 330,563 “Epson SureColor SC-V7000 was launched in April 2021.”

Aug. 2, 2022

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