At the Kama Finishing Days HP Indigo and Kama GmbH presented an innovative end to end workflow for the production of digitally printed folding cartons.
Around 450 visitors from 34 countries attended the event in Dresden, Germany 11 to 14 November with live demonstrations of the complete production process from digital file to a finished carton.
At the event, the prototype of the Folder-Gluer FlexFold 52 was unveiled. This new machine has been designed to deal with frequent and very fast job changes and so can be set up quickly for different products and formats.
A distinctive feature is the newly developed APA-System (automated plough length adjustment), which makes it possible to adjust the folding belts automatically not only in transverse but also in longitudinal direction. Changeover, which often takes hours on conventional machinery, is now done in only minutes.
The folding cartons were printed and varnished inline on an HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press. HP Indigo presented the digital press for B2 format (sheet format up to 75 cm, 29″) fully equipped with inline primer and the inline varnishing unit TRESU iCoat 30000. Both UV varnish and water-based varnish can be applied as a selective coating.
The folding cartons printed on off-the-shelf substrate on the HP Indigo 30000 with seven colours including white, showed an offset matching print quality combined with the use of variable data and designs. At the end of the workflow, every visitor got a box personalised with his or her photo.
The folding cartons were produced in different formats including personalisation and finishing. The featured workflow has been optimised for short runs and showed highest quality products in both digital printing and finishing.
‘This complete networked solution for short-run folding carton production hits the pulse of the times’, said KAMA CEO Marcus Tralau. ‘Short runs are not profitable on high-volume machinery, but they are now evolving from an unpleasant irritation to a growth market. What is needed is a solution with an uncomplicated set-up and minimal changeover times, something that can handle many job changes in a short space of time and which still delivers top quality while running with significantly shorter production cycles.
