John Penhallow10.07.14
Heralded since last June, the Gallus DCS 340 made its debut during the "Gallus Innovation Days" attended by more than 700 people in late September. For the Swiss press manufacturer, this was the first major event since it was acquired 100% by Heidelberg.
Using the combined skills of Gallus, Heidelberg and Fujifilm, the new press has been developed in less than a year. This was achieved partly by using an ingenious adaptation of the well-established Gallus ECS 340 flexo press.
"To design, develop and build such a product in less than 12 months is something I would not have thought possible," said Gerold Linzbach, CEO of Heidelberg, adding, with just a touch of hyperbole, that for him the Gallus DCS 340 was just as sexy as the products made famous by the late Steve Jobs.
At the heart of the Gallus DCS 340 is an inkjet module; upstream of it are a corona pre-treater and two flexo units. Downstream is another flexo unit (for varnishing), a “classic” semi-rotary diecutter, and a slitter rewinder. The “black box” at the heart of the press houses up to 64 Fujifilm Dimatix UV printheads printing in seven colors (CMYK/orange/violet/green) plus white, with a native resolution of 1200 dpi. These heads, developed by Fujifilm, will be manufactured under license by Heidelberg. Print speed is currently 50 m/min (roughly 160 ft/min), and Gallus is confident that this speed will be increased between now and the official launch next year.
During the presentation, Jason Oliver (billed as Heidelberg’s "Mister Digital") explained that many of Gallus’ existing customers wished to enter digital production with an industrial solution and a print quality than most inkjet presses cannot match. He also claimed that the new press will offer the “lowest cost per label," because of its design, and its ability to print on virtually any media with minimal waste. This press is not primarily intended for very short runs, but is ideally suited to anything from 1500 to 25,000 feet, according to Oliver. To manage all elements of prepress and printing, the Gallus DCS 340 uses the Prinect Prepress Interface, developed by Heidelberg.
"Thanks to the direct transfer of specific print parameters, all settings become faster and safer, and waste is greatly reduced," according to Stefan Heiniger, Director of Gallus label division.
How soon and how much?
Unofficial reports say the Gallus DCS 340 will be sold at around $1.8 million, and the customer will buy inks and other consumables as required (i.e. there is no "per click" system). The prototype will undergo extensive in-house testing after which it will be tested in beta with a couple of Gallus’ existing customers. The official launch is scheduled for September 2015 at Labelexpo in Brussels.
Using the combined skills of Gallus, Heidelberg and Fujifilm, the new press has been developed in less than a year. This was achieved partly by using an ingenious adaptation of the well-established Gallus ECS 340 flexo press.
"To design, develop and build such a product in less than 12 months is something I would not have thought possible," said Gerold Linzbach, CEO of Heidelberg, adding, with just a touch of hyperbole, that for him the Gallus DCS 340 was just as sexy as the products made famous by the late Steve Jobs.
At the heart of the Gallus DCS 340 is an inkjet module; upstream of it are a corona pre-treater and two flexo units. Downstream is another flexo unit (for varnishing), a “classic” semi-rotary diecutter, and a slitter rewinder. The “black box” at the heart of the press houses up to 64 Fujifilm Dimatix UV printheads printing in seven colors (CMYK/orange/violet/green) plus white, with a native resolution of 1200 dpi. These heads, developed by Fujifilm, will be manufactured under license by Heidelberg. Print speed is currently 50 m/min (roughly 160 ft/min), and Gallus is confident that this speed will be increased between now and the official launch next year.
During the presentation, Jason Oliver (billed as Heidelberg’s "Mister Digital") explained that many of Gallus’ existing customers wished to enter digital production with an industrial solution and a print quality than most inkjet presses cannot match. He also claimed that the new press will offer the “lowest cost per label," because of its design, and its ability to print on virtually any media with minimal waste. This press is not primarily intended for very short runs, but is ideally suited to anything from 1500 to 25,000 feet, according to Oliver. To manage all elements of prepress and printing, the Gallus DCS 340 uses the Prinect Prepress Interface, developed by Heidelberg.
"Thanks to the direct transfer of specific print parameters, all settings become faster and safer, and waste is greatly reduced," according to Stefan Heiniger, Director of Gallus label division.
How soon and how much?
Unofficial reports say the Gallus DCS 340 will be sold at around $1.8 million, and the customer will buy inks and other consumables as required (i.e. there is no "per click" system). The prototype will undergo extensive in-house testing after which it will be tested in beta with a couple of Gallus’ existing customers. The official launch is scheduled for September 2015 at Labelexpo in Brussels.