25 Drupa-launched digital presses that made an impact 12 months ago

The Bobst digital printing press for corrugated applications uses Kodak Stream inkjet technology and aqueous based food compliant inks, to continuously deliver over 50 billion ink drops per second from its four CMYK print units. According to Bobst, the press can match a broad range of the Pantone gamut and print at speeds of up to 200 meters per minute. The press boasts of a resolution of 600 x 900 dpi, aided by its brand new patented vacuum belt sheet transport system. The press is a stack-to-stack solution ideal for integration into corrugated plants’ existing logistics systems. The pre-coating unit allows the press to print onto a wide range of corrugated substrates, giving the converter maximum flexibility in production

Canon’s new B3 sheetfed inkjet press, Oce VarioPrint i300 was launched at Drupa. It features Kyocera piezoelectric printheads with 600dpi resolution and DigiDot 2-bit variable drops for a ‘perceived 1,200dpi’ quality. It can print up to 300 A4 impressions per minute. Canon says it can reliably output 8,700 duplex A4s per hour on average, including cleaning and other stoppages. The i300 boasts a CMYK system with six ink channels, with two ‘spares’, and the ColorGrip uses one channel to print its priming liquid beneath the coloured ink drops

Targeted at high-end commercial and photo printing applications demanding the highest print quality, Canon’s Voyager B2+ inkjet press is still a prototype set to launch in 2018. The Voyager is based on “the latest inkjet technology” developed by Canon. It is a seven colour device with B2+ duplex capability and prints pigment inks at a speed of 3,000 sheets per hour. Canon’s Puneet Datta says, “B2+ means that the final print size will be of B2 and the sheet size will be slightly bigger. The machine also features an inline gloss optimiser and is powered with the new Drupa-launch EFI Fiery XB Scalable Blade Server”

Domino showcased web-fed K630i that has a choice of web widths. This was originally called MonoCube by its developor Graph-Tech, which Domino acquired in 2012. At Drupa it was running inline with a Kern 130 rotary sheeter plus an Ibis Smart-binder saddle binding system

Durst, the industrial inkjet specialist, launched its single-pass and multi-pass printing systems for corrugated box manufacturers and converters. The highlight is the new Rho 130 SPC which offers the industrial productivity needed in the packaging sector. The Rho 130 SPC can be configured with up to six colours and has a maximum printing width of 1,300 mm. Up to 12 mm thick corrugated cardboard and paper media can be printed with a maximum resolution of up to 800dpi at a print speed of up to 9,350 sq/m per hour

Electronics For Imaging (EFI) announced the new EFI Nozomi single-pass LED technology at Drupa 2016. The press is said to reach speeds up to 75 linear metres (246 linear feet) per minute. In addition to speeds, the new technology gives users the benefit of a low acquisition price with significant total cost of ownership advantages. The sheetfed, digital packaging press runs at speeds up to 8,100 sqm/hr and can print on boards up to 1.8mx3m in size. Users will gain superior versatility thanks to a double-lane printing feature that enables full utilization of the press's speed and width and increases throughput up to 9,000 80cmx60cm boards per hour. The press's LED imaging capabilities provide colour imaging on just about any board substrate, including traditional Kemi, model, bleach and kraft materials

Launched as a prototype at Drupa 2008, and commercialised at Drupa 2012, the Fujifilm JetPress 720S garnered a good response at Drupa 2016 says Fujifilm’s SM Ramprasad. He said, "There are more than 50 hot leads for the B2-plus format single-sided digital inkjet press, for sheets up to 750x532mm." The reason, according to Ramprasad is, the JetPress prints on standard litho papers thanks to an inline coating that reacts with the ink. Plus the quality is better than litho or any other “paper-based digital process. But unlike other B2 presses we are not a beta product. The JetPress has a solid installation base across the world”

Heidelberg showed a world premiere for industrial production of digital printing applications in 70x100cm format with the Primefire 106. The system is based on inkjet technology from Heidelberg’s development partner, Fujifilm. It offers a printing speed of up to 2,500 sheets per hour, and capable of achieving production volumes of up to 1.5 million sheets per month in future productivity modes. The seven-colour inkjet system with Heidelberg Multicolor technology also covers up to 95% of the Pantone colour space

HP unveiled Indigo 12000 at Drupa 2016. It features a maximum printing speed of up to 4,600 B2 colour sheets per hour and it can print monochrome in duplex at 4,600 sph. The Indigo 12000 broadens the substrate range that it can print on including synthetics, canvas, and metallised with on-press HP Indigo ElectroInk Primer and One-Shot Colour technology

HP unveiled the new HP PageWide C500 press, focusing on the corrugation market. The highly automated sheetfed, single-pass C500 was not on display at the show, however, the manufacturer was making serious discussions with potential buyers. The press, which is understood to designed to handle standard corrugated board sizes of around 1.8x3m, will go into beta next year, and begin commercial shipping in 2018

KBA and Xerox launched the concept of the KBA Varijet 106. It is a hybrid machine which can include any units from a standard Rapida 106 machine such as offset units, cold foil and coating, including double coating units, as well as die-cutting. The current speed of 4,500 sheets per hour will increase over the next few months, says KBA. It integrates Xerox Impika inkjet technology into the KBA Rapida 106 press platform. The press, in the final stages of development, will print 4,500 B1 (750 x 1,060mm) sheets per hour. Its modular concept enables the combination of digital inkjet printing with optional inline capabilities such as coating, cold foil application, rotary die-cutting, creasing and perforating

Kodak NexPress ZX3900 offers new packaging and retail application opportunities, and now supports thicker paper and thicker synthetic substrates without limiting the range of commercial jobs that can be produced. It includes new capabilities such as opaque white dry ink, complementing the already available nine specialty inks for opacity in a single pass for applications such as packaging, signage, labels and invitations. It has more than 20% higher opacity in a single pass compared to multiple passes on competitive presses. The new Opaque White Dry Ink can be installed on most existing NexPresses as an option

Komori’s Impremia IS29 29-inch sheetfed UV inkjet digital printing system is jointly developed with Konica Minolta. The Impremia IS29 can print directly on a wide variety of stock with a maximum sheet size of 585x750mm. There is no need for special paper due to UV inkjet technology, and no need for any precoating or certified paper. The machine incorporates a perfecting mechanism, accommodating not only 4-up single-sided but also 8-up double-sided impositions

The Konica Minolta AccurioJet KM-1 is a sheetfed duplex B2-format digital inkjet press. Konica Minolta makes the print engine, inks and DFE, while Komori supplies the transport system. Its 600dpi printheads with piezo shear technology are fitted in pairs to give 1,200dpi. There are eight pairs per full-width print bar and one print bar per colour. Initially, the presses will be wide-gamut CMYK, with five and six colour options in future. It takes oversized B2 sheets up to 585x750mm, allowing six-up A4s. The production presses are claimed to print 3,000 simplex or 1,500 duplex B2 sheets per hour at up to 1,200dpi, with full variable print

At drupa 2016, Landa announced the launch the Landa W10P Nanographic Printing Press. The metre-wide two-sided Landa web press has twin printing engines, each with 4-8 colours, and prints on virtually any coated or uncoated paper stock ranging in weight from 30gsm to cardstock. As Landa nanographic printing creates zero strikethrough, the press produces magazine-quality printing even on the lightest and cheapest uncoated papers. Running at 200 metres/minute, the Landa W10P Nanographic Printing Press is up to 24 times faster than any other commercial quality digital press, and requires no setup or makeready. A crossover point with analogue up to 5,000 copies lets users offer affordable digital production while providing fast turnaround and on-demand printing

Manroland partnered with Kodak to demonstrate a hybrid web offset and inkjet press. It integrated the Kodak Prosper 6000S inkjet web with a FoldLine inline finishing to produce a hybrid line. This could imprint digital sections into retail flyers with full-page variable colour at full 600dpi while matching the speed of the offset line

The Meteor DP 1000X toner press was announced, with the latest Konica Minolta toner engines for increased speeds up to 100 sheets per minute. It will feature MGI’s own modifications for longer sheets (up to 330x1,200mm), weights up to 450gsm and an offset pile feeder. It will also run inline with MGI’s DF Pro, which offers 20 different functions

Miyakoshi showed a new liquid toner web press, 20NX-5000, running at 100m/min. It uses the same Miyakoshi-developed liquid toner and high viscosity ink technology as in the RMGT DP7 sheetfed press and requires a heated drying unit

The Ricoh Pro VC60000 was showcased to a worldwide audience for the first time at Drupa 2016. It is a continuous feed inkjet printer that enables printers to print up to 150 metres per minute — nearly 100,000 A4 images per hour. It can print at resolutions up to 1,200 x 1,200dpi. It supports a wide selection of paper stocks — coated, uncoated, inkjet treated and offset, from 40gsm to 250gsm — on printable sheet sizes up to 508 x 1,371mm for greater flexibility in the transition of offset and cut-sheet applications

The merger of Ryobi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ press operations was demonstrating DP7, its B2 format liquid toner press. Based on a Ryobi 750 offset press chassis fitted with Miyakoshi 1,200dpi heads and high viscosity liquid toner, it offers 6,000sph, with up to 8,000sph in potential. The Drupa configuration was four units, but five or more will be possible, including a 4/4 perfector

Screen Truepress Jet520NX inherits many of the proven features of the successful high speed 520 series, which have already exceeded 1,000 shipped units worldwide. Insight Communications closed a deal for a Screen Truepress Jet 520 digital web press which will be installed at the premise of an Indian customer. Also, SSK Infotech, the Navi Mumbai-based VDP print firm, was the first Indian firm to install Screen Truepress Jet 520 in 2014. The new model incorporates many of the image processing and inkjet technologies accumulated by Screen since the launch of the 520 series in 2006. It runs 520mm webs at up to 150m/min in up to five colours and the quality will allow it to “move beyond transactional”, according to Screen

Xeikon’s Trillium One is capable of running at 60 metres per minute at 1,200dpi, with a print width of 500mm. It uses Trillium, Xeikon’s liquid toner printing process, which was first presented at Drupa 2012. Trillium technology resulted in the small toner particle size of less than 2-micron used in the Xeikon-crafted high viscosity liquid toner. Shipping of the Trillium One will start from Q2 2017

The iGen5 is a cut-sheet dry toner-based, third-generation xerographic print engine, supplementing traditional CMYK colours with an additional fifth colour station offering orange, green or blue. Xerox claims that this press will match over 90% of the Pantone Plus coated library within 3dE Paper Format Standard Sheet Size. Its substrate flexibility enables it to print on recycled, perforated, tabs, transparencies, a wide variety of labels, synthetics, sheets with removable cards, polyesters, magnets and thick stock up to 24pt. Mixed-stock jobs of up to 12 stocks are supported at the rated speed

Xerox is aiming to put “inkjet within reach of more print providers”, with the introduction of the sheetfed B3-plus Brenva HD and the continuous-feed Trivor 2400 presses. Its new High Fusion ink is said to allow inkjet printing onto standard offset papers without primers or the like. The Brenva is basically an inkjet engine built onto an iGen chassis and paper handling system. It takes sheets up to 364x520mm and 220gsm and can print 197 A4 images per minute at full 600dpi, or 100 A3s. It’s intended for a duty cycle of up to 6m sheets per month

Xerox announced the Trivor 2400, a 20inch (50.8cm) production inkjet web with a small footprint. It runs at 100m/min at 600x600dpi in four-colour mode, or 200m/min in mono mode. In highest quality colour mode of 1,200x600dpi it will run at between 50-60m/min. There’s a new digital frontend inkjet print server for the Trivor 2400 and Impika devices of the same format, powered by EFI’s Fiery technology