Inkjet & Digital Printing
Agfa to demonstrate digital press technology
Thursday 10. March 2011 - Digital press technology is now one of the most talked about technologies and is a topic that all printers are taking a serious look at. Some have already invested whilst others are still forming their plans. Gulf Print & Pack is without doubt a unique opportunity for printers to visit the major suppliers and see for themselves what is on offer and how it can help them in an increasingly tough and highly competitive print market.
Agfas Global Sales Director for their :Dotrix industrial inkjet press, Jan De Vooght, believes the time for industrial inkjet press technology has already arrived. “We have a huge number of bookings for the afternoon seminar on Tuesday March 15th. The seminar highlights the value of digital for packaging & POS segment. Agfas first Dotrix user in the region, LabelCo of Lebanon, will also give a Gulf Print seminar about their conversion to digital press technology”
Printers battle dropping run lengths
Agfa know the print market well, they sell around a third of the worlds litho plates. “Run lengths are dropping all the time, traditional litho and flexo are struggling to meet the changing needs in packaging, labels and point of sale products” continued De Vooght. “Those printers that have already transitioned to digital press technology understand how a digital press is ideally suited to fast turnaround requirements, short deadlines, short run lengths, inventory minimisation and waste reduction”.
Brand managers are understandably cutting costs of their packaging, labels and point of sale materials, not just production costs but also inventory costs and waste. It is no longer a case of make then sell, the speed of digital press technology means that sell then make is becoming the new philosophy.
“With each passing year average run lengths decrease. For many jobs the tipping point has already been reached and digital is more cost effective than either litho or flexo. For many other jobs the time for digital printing is not that far away, the progressive printers already have their own plans for implementing digital press technology” continued De Vooght. “Our :Dotrix Modular prints 1209 m²/hr on a 650mm wide substrate coil. This can be heavy 450gsm paper, 25µ foil, shrinkable label, or any type of substrate up to 600 micron gauge. Unlike toner based digital press technology the inkjet :Dotrix has no repeating seam from the toner cylinder. The UV cured Agfa UV inks wont scratch, scuff or fade – even in outdoor applications”
Digital succeeds where traditional fails
Digital press technology allows endless print possibilities that are simply not financially practical with litho or flexo. A digital press easily handles late design changes and is the natural choice for short/medium run lengths due to the simple workflow and plateless approach. With a digital press it is simple to co-brand packaging with the name of the retail outlet or the name of a special promotion. It is a proven way to gain extra presence in the battle of the shelves and increase sales and ideally suited to digital press production.
Some brands have benefitted from special event packaging where print runs have been commissioned for promotions. “With the :Dotrix Modular Single Pass UV digital press anything is possible, it has been revolutionary for some brands. Brand managers are finding their way to the forward-thinking printers that have digital press capability” explained De Vooght.
Digital press technology suits brand managers
The global brand management philosophies of a few years ago can now be fine tuned down to local level thanks to the adaptability of the digital press. Brand managers are working harder and thinking smarter to out-manoeuvre their competition and the digital press is now a key part of that. Mass production techniques of five years ago are giving way to mass customisation techniques available today only with digital press technology. Digital press technology allows jobs to be changed on the fly during the production process without any costly press stop-downs that would be needed on a litho or flexo press.
Dotrix reducing waste
Gulf Print & Pack 2011 is not just about the increased responsiveness that Digital Press technology offers to the market, increasingly printers are looking for more environmentally friendly improvements to their business which will also cut spending on materials. “All of our :Dotrix Modular customers have reduced waste substantially since they went digital” comments Agfas De Vooght. “The :Dotrix Modular starts printing immediately with no traditional make-ready waste, so there is no paper waste nor any waste printing plates. The Agfa UV inks do not release volatile organic components into the atmosphere.” It seems inkjet has an exciting year ahead.