Gallus has developed Digital Printbar, a new inkjet printing unit designed specifically for digital insetting of highly opaque digital white.
With a printing width of 430mm (17in), the rail-mounted Digital Printbar is claimed to achieve an opacity to rival that of conventional screen printing whilst benefitting from the use of inkjet-based digital print technology, including flexibility. If different languages are required, for example, no additional hardware is needed for this type of insetting. Depending on the job requirements, Gallus identified this new digital embellishment unit as a ‘highly cost-efficient alternative’ to conventional embellishing methods.
Digital Printbar has a touchscreen interface for intuitive operation. It also benefits from quick and easy integration into the workflow via ethernet cable or USB. Consequently, it maximises the process flexibility of label printers and processors during label production, according to the company.
The new module will be showcased at Labelexpo Europe 2019, where it will be presented as part of a Labelmaster set up, but it can easily be integrated into other systems such as the Labelfire hybrid platform or RCS 430 press.
Also at the show, Gallus will showcase the Digital Embellishment Unit, to produce gloss and matte spot coatings and tactile relief effects in a single pass, and its new fully variable data printing (fVDP) concept. The company will be using the ‘Your Smoothie’ campaign to demonstrate fVDP with the Labelfire. The design of a self-adhesive label changes while printing is underway according to the type and number of ingredients, meaning that each label is different from the previous one. This, stated the company, means, ‘the possibilities of the Labelfire’s digital unit combined with the fully variable data printing option cover every possible requirement.’
iVDP – industrial variable data printing – allows the printing of very small batch sizes as well as items including barcodes, 2D codes and serialised or personalised labels, which are in ever greater demand.
Christof Naier, general manager of the label business unit at Heidelberg/Gallus, said, ‘Digitisation is now part and parcel of label production. The Heidelberg/Gallus team will be fully embracing this trend at the upcoming Labelexpo Europe 2019 with a view to showing existing and potential customers new ways of maintaining and further improving their competitiveness in the age of digitisation.’
Read more about the Gallus Labelfire installed at Austrian printer Insignis Etiketten in the next issue of Digital Labels & Packaging
