Drupa 2024 Preview: Quadient – System Brunner

Drupa 2024 is back after eight long years and will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany, from May 28 to June 7. In this special series, PrintWeek highlights the top exhibitors to watch out for at the show.

26 May 2024 | By PrintWeek Team

Visitors will be able to experience the Henkakuverse, a virtual production environment where they can learn how Ricoh’s technologies can benefit their print operations

Quadient (Hall 6/F30)
Quadient is set to unveil its latest mail and parcel solutions at Drupa 2024, the world’s leading trade show for printing technologies. Among the highlights of Quadient’s product lineup are parcel locker solutions, automated mail sorting systems, and customer communications management solutions that are designed to help businesses optimise their operations, streamline workflows, and enhance the customer experience. Visitors to the Quadient stand at the event will have the opportunity to experience these cutting-edge solutions firsthand.

Re (Hall 12/A45)
Re, an Italian automation equipment designer and manufacturer, is all set to launch its latest web viewing system, ReVision Net, at Drupa 2024 in Germany. The company has designed this software to enhance print quality control and ensure every printed detail is captured and reproduced on the monitor with exceptional colour accuracy, even in the most complex printing processes. The product launch and showcase at Drupa is an exciting opportunity for Re to showcase its innovative technology to the world.

Must See: Ricoh (Hall 8A/21-1, 21-2)
Ricoh will introduce a new scalable workflow and production automation software solution that will streamline prepress processes and reduce labour costs. Visitors will be able to experience the Henkakuverse, a virtual production environment where they can learn how Ricoh’s technologies can benefit their print operations.

The event will showcase new printing technologies, including the Dragon — the Ricoh Pro Z75 B2 sheetfed digital inkjet press, the first B2 perfecting sheetfed inkjet platform using aqueous ink. Another technology is the Ricoh Pro Harpy Eagle digital colour high-speed inkjet webfed press (also known as VC80000), which offers consistent high print quality and productivity. The new Jaguars range of digital colour sheetfed presses aims to increase operational efficiency and revenue streams, empowering commercial printers with labour-saving automation. It will be complemented by the five-colour Ricoh Pro C7500 digital colour sheetfed press.

Ricoh’s software area will focus on production automation, offering cloud-based and on-premise solutions to improve efficiency. It will offer software solutions that automate workflows, such as Ricoh TotalFlow Producer, Ricoh Supervisor, and FusionPro. Ricoh also offers professional services consultancy, including colour management support. The award-winning Ricoh Auto Color Adjuster ensures high-quality results, providing precise colour management without the need for a specialist.

 

Must See: RMGT (Hall 16/E11)
RMGT will debut two new presses at Drupa. The company will mark its Drupa presence with the theme “Assist your potential with technological expertise and constant innovation.” The focus will be on “increased productivity for commercial printing” and “further automation for package printing.”

On display for the commercial print market and the packaging market will be the 970PF-8+LED, RMGT’s eight-colour convertible perfector, available in straight configurations for up to eight colours and perfectors for up to 10 colours. The 1060LX-6+CC press is a 1,060-mm format six-colour offset press with a coating unit, extended delivery, and a printing speed of 17,100-sph. These advanced presses feature new-generation skeleton cylinders and the most comprehensive automation packages available, resulting in higher operating rates and speedy job changeovers.

Scodix (Hall 5/E11)
Scodix will launch two new models — the 2500 and 6500 presses at Drupa 2024. These presses are equipped with advanced features that cater to specific customer needs, making them versatile and efficient for a wide range of printing applications, including uncoated and transparent materials.
The two new presses feature Scodix SHD (smart high-definition) technology and Scodix MLE (multi-layer enhancement). The company will unveil six new applications, showcasing Scodix SHD and MLE, and bringing the total number of embellishment applications to 16. These applications span a wide range of features such as foiling, spot UV, Braille, variable foiling, variable spot, UV glitter, casting cure, and much more. This expansive range of embellishment options opens up a world of intricate designs, textures, and effects to be applied to various media types, including uncoated, coated, plastic, and corrugated materials.
Scodix is also set to launch Scodix AI (an automated embellishment creator tool) at Drupa. This technology, designed with the user in mind, uses artificial intelligence to streamline the design process for embellishments, making it more accessible and user-friendly.

Must See: Screen (Hall 8A/A03)
Screen has announced the completion of a new roll-fed digital inkjet press for the commercial printing, direct mail, and publishing printing markets. The kit will be showcased at Drupa. The newly developed Truepress Jet 560HDX has several print modes, allowing it to handle paper widths of up to 560mm at speeds of up to 150m/min with a maximum resolution of 1,200-dpi.

The Truepress Jet 520HD, 520HD+, and 520 HD AD printers with the Truepress SC and SC ink sets will remain available. The Truepress Jet 560HDX is fully compatible with Screen’s innovative Truepress ink SC2, a versatile high-optical-density ink set that allows direct printing onto offset-coated papers without any pre-treatment, opening up a world of possibilities for your printing needs. The press is also equipped with a new fast-start operating system that ensures seamless integration of all internal hardware and software and pre- and post-finishing equipment.

SD-Italy (Hall 8B/B11)
SD-Italy is set to showcase its new technologies at the upcoming Drupa event. The company will demonstrate its welding capabilities, which cater to a wider range of needs of sign manufacturers and installers. Additionally, SD-Italy will highlight a distinctive drilling and tapping process that showcases the SD-Italy Augusta Pro as the ultimate machine for heavy-duty signage applications. With these new technologies, SD-Italy aims to offer a true hybrid routing and cutting solution that fills a gap in dimensional signage manufacturing, enabling their customers to drive higher profits. Furthermore, the recent sale of the 7.6-meter Augusta CNC Router to one of the most respected signage manufacturers in the Southwestern United States will significantly impact the North American signage market in the coming months.

Seiko Instruments (Hall 5/C30)
Seiko Instruments’ printhead division will unveil its 600-dpi printhead, the RCE2560 at Drupa 2024. The excitement surrounding the RCE2560 stems from its groundbreaking combination of 600-dpi resolution, true recirculation, isolated channel technology, and integrated next-generation waveform controllers. This amalgamation of cutting-edge features ensures unparalleled printing performance and efficiency. With 2,560 strategically distributed nozzles across four rows over a printing width of 108.3-mm, the RCE2560 delivers exceptional printing performance within a compact footprint. The recirculation system facilitates a high-flow rate directly behind the nozzles, resulting in superior print quality and consistency.
One of the key highlights of the RCE2560 is its versatility, offering multiple grey levels with a drop volume range from nine to 20-pl along with the possibility to accommodate various fluid types, including aqueous, solvent-, oil-, or UV-based inks. Seiko Instruments aims to expand its reach beyond traditional markets like ceramics, coding and marking, and packaging, leveraging the RCE2560 to explore new opportunities.

Sitma (Hall 8A/B41)
Sitma is set to demonstrate its products in the Tecnau booth, highlighting the synergy between Sitma’s packaging automation expertise and Tecnau’s automation expertise in digital print finishing. Sitma collaborates with Mital International, the company’s authorised dealer in India. Sitma will exhibit its packaging solutions, including the Sitma e-Wrap and Fast Pack Plus mailer automation platform. The e-Wrap is a modular and flexible packaging system integrated with print and apply features, label application, and Sitma’s own packaging execution software for invoices and return labels. The Fast Pack Plus is designed for high-volume production and can easily handle various product formats and sizes.

Must See: Soma (Hall 15/A01)
At Drupa, Xeikon will demonstrate its unique solutions for four key markets: flexible packaging, corrugated packaging, graphic arts, and label printing. In the flexible packaging market, Xeikon’s Titon solution ensures food safety even when printing on paper-based flexible packaging, meeting stringent temperature, chemical, and mechanical resistance requirements.

In the corrugated packaging market, Xeikon’s Idera technology delivers a food-safe solution within the post-print corrugated environment For graphic arts, Xeikon Sirius offers cost-effective technology for medium-run commercial print. In label printing, Panther (UV inkjet) and Lion (dry toner) technologies excel in speed and quality, offering two complementary processes that deliver sought-after sustainable benefits.

StudioRip (Hall 7A/A05)
At Drupa, StudioRip will showcase two main products: StudioRIP, the RIP and pre-press workflow software; and StudioRIP DTP, the inkjet CTP system.
The StudioRIP software and inkjet CTP system have been on the market since 2000 and 2014 respectively but are now being updated. StudioRIP is a RIP and workflow software used in the pre-press industry, covering a wide market: it drives CTP machines for offset and flexo, creates pre-press films for flexo, screen printing or other UV-exposure based technologies, prints proofs, drives inkjet printers for generic colour printing, and has a wide range of features like imposition, trapping, and ink duct control.
StudioRIP DTP is an inkjet CTP system which creates conventional aluminium offset plates using inkjet printers. While its quality is very similar, its price is a fraction of the conventional laser CTP machines. With the StudioRip software, the company will utilise the Epson stand (Hall  5/D20) running the Epson SureColor T5405 printer and attach its plate positioning system to it. The UV exposure will be a separate, optional module, and the plate processor will be fully automated. These systems will be controlled through 3.5-inch touch screens with a user-friendly graphical interface.

Solimar Systems (Partner Stands - Hall 17/A01, Hall 8A/C20/A03)
Solimar will showcase its chemistry platform suite of products at Drupa and present at partner booths such as HP, Kyocera, RISO, and Screen, where they will highlight their intelligent automation solutions for optimized PDF workflows and mobile visibility dashboards. The demonstrations will include Solimar’s universal dashboard that displays piece-level job status, ink and media usage details, and JDF integration for various presses. Solimar is proud to be a global marketing partner of HP and an authorised distributor/reseller of Kyocera, RISO, and Screen across different regions.

System Brunner (K&B Hall 16/A31 and BW Converting Hall 16/D20 & C21)
System Brunner, a technology company specialising in colour management for print and pre-press, recently showcased its latest developments in AI-supported colour management and computer vision colour control technology with grey balance. The company’s technologies will be presented in collaboration with its partners at their respective booths. System Brunner’s AI-supported print production solutions were a testament to their market leadership and technological edge in the industry. One of the highlights will be the live machine demo at Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed’s booth, where the QualiTronic Instrument Flight Inline Closed-Loop Control will be showcased. This autopilot system is G7-certified and uses AI to ensure optimal colour and consistency in sheetfed offset printing. Another noteworthy presentation will be made at BW Converting’s booth, where System Brunner and Baldwin jointly introduce the Instrument Flight 2024 application with the Baldwin CCS SpectralCam Inline for web offset presses. This AI-supported process control and colour control solution optimises CMYK, EXG 7-C, and spot colours based on repeatable spectral measurements and colour assessment modelled on human perception.