Bobst finally lifted the lid on its first foray into digital print for corrugated with a new press developed with Kodak Stream inkjet technology. The company has also announced the first two beta site installations of the new digital press.
Bobst first stated its intention to develop a digital offering in 2013 when it was announced that a strategic alliance with Kodak had been entered into, with the goal of introducing new products in the flexible, folding carton and corrugated sectors. Now the Swiss company has introduced an as yet unnamed digital printing press for corrugated board, which is already up and running at two European sites.
Designed to deliver four colour digital post-print directly onto a broad range of uncoated and coated corrugated media, the new press offers both personalisation and speed, on short run and high volume work. The sheet-fed machine prints at speeds up to 200 m/min and can handle sheets up to a maximum size of 1.3 x 2.1 meters. The press features Stream Inkjet Technology supplied by Kodak. This utilises food compliant inks, a key issue for packaging manufacturers in many sectors.
Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of Bobst, said, ‘We promised the packaging industry a series of revolutionary digital printing solutions. Now that the corrugated version is in beta testing, the industry can see that we are making good on that promise. This press will start a revolution in the corrugated packaging industry because it opens up such a huge range of possibilities to box makers, and to their clients, the brand owners.’
Testing sites
The site chosen for the first beta installation is the Model AG plant in Weinfelden, which is also the production and management hub of the CHF 700 million turnover Model Group. Daniel Model, CEO of Model Group, said, ‘We are very excited and proud to be the first beta customer for this revolutionary press. We firmly believe that the technology this Bobst solution brings will permanently transform the corrugated packaging industry.’
Philippe Milliet, head of business unit sheet-fed, added, ‘Model have been our partners on many such pioneering projects and we tremendously value their input because of their forward-looking philosophy.’
The announcement of the second beta site followed quickly in July; this time in Germany at the Schumacher Packaging plant in Ebersdorf. This has been described as the central hub of Schumacher Packaging GmbH, which has 13 sites across Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. Managing director Björn Schumacher said, ‘We are very excited about the possibilities this Bobst press offers for opening up new market areas to us. We continuously invest in high performance, state of the art machines in all our production areas, which is one of the reasons we have been able to grow our business significantly over the past few years. Being a beta site for this digital solution gets us in on the ground floor of this revolutionary technology.’
Mr Milliet commented, ‘The Bobst digital printing press is unlike any other solution seen in the market. For corrugated packaging makers, it bridges the gap between high volume flexo printing and the lower capacity digital systems available up until now. Furthermore, the press has been designed to integrate into the typical high volume post-print production environments of the corrugated industry. For our customers, it means they can offer their clients more flexibility and the reactivity to meet dynamic consumer demands, by introducing new products with versioning, mass customisation and personalisation.’
Our technical editor Sean Smyth saw the press earlier this year while it was still under development and described it as ‘a powerful device’. He said, ‘The quality is very good and judging by some of the brands being tested, the converters looking at it agree.’ No doubt, Bobst will reveal more about this press at drupa next year.
