Steve Katz, Editor05.11.15
“Print is a catalyst,” said Helmuth Munter, Durst segment manager, Labels & Package Printing, during his opening remarks. “In today’s digital, social and increasingly fragmented world, print is a powerful catalyst for brand promises and experiences to be delivered. And it’s digital printing that connects these worlds, leading to greater engagement, interaction and differentiation.”
Munter presented the case for digital, pointing out the technology’s lower production costs – less press setup with no plates – coupled with value-added opportunities, such as customization, personalization, versioning and faster speed-to-market. “Digital technology is mature and ready to meet today’s demands to complement conventional printing methods,” Munter said. “And we, as a supplier to the industry, are ready with an appropriate digital print solution and the required technical support.”
Munter detailed the capabilities of the Durst Tau 330 digital UV inkjet printing system. With a print speed of 157 feet per minute, the press is designed to economically produce both short and medium runs. Incorporating variable drop size and Greyscale technology, the Tau 330 achieves a visible image resolution of 1000 dpi, allowing for extremely small text to be highly defined with a color gradient that is consistent and homogeneous. Durst Single Pass UV Inkjet Technology enables a configuration with up to 7 UV inks: CMYK, Orange, Violet and White. The availability of what Munter described as “perfect” white ink allows a wide range of applications for either transparent or colored substrates. For printing on extra thin material and unsupported foils, the Tau 330 can be equipped with a built-in chill roller, in order to cool and maintain constant temperature while curing these sensitive materials.
Munter talked about the advantages of the Tau’s UV inkjet ink, pointing out that in addition to the extremely opaque ink, the system offers up to 90% coverage of the Pantone color gamut. He added, “Durst Tau UV inkjet ink features high light fastness, high scratch and chemical resistance, and can print on many standard substrates thus reducing the need for primers. The ink is also available as a low migration product, opening the doors for printers to enter the flexible packaging market.
Following Munter’s presentation, Digital Days attendees heard from representatives of supplier partners Sunjet and Spartanics, as well as first hand accounts from Tau 330 users from both the US and Europe. After the presentations, Digital Days visitors went on an extensive tour of the Brixen manufacturing facility, which culminated in witnessing a live demonstration of the Tau 330 LFS. For images of the tour and demonstration, check out the L&NW slideshow.
Low migration with Sunjet
In his Digital Days presentation, Rick Hulme, global sales and product manager at Sunjet, the inkjet technology arm of Sun Chemical, demonstrated the potential of low-migration inks for UV printing. In close partnership with Durst, Sunjet has developed high-pigmented UV inks that comply with several different migration rules of the European Union, Swiss Ordinance, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Japanese Food Sanitation Law and Chinese Packaging Regulation, as well as the directives of the European Printing Ink Association (EUPIA) and the American NAPIM. The complexity of low-migration inks also takes into account the various different forms of migration, such as penetration, contact, evaporation and condensation, as well as the different packaging materials used.
According to Hulme, the Tau 330 is the first UV inkjet printing system for which low-migration inks have been approved. Certification was carried out officially according to ISO 17025 by Sunjet and also by an independent laboratory. For printing primary packaging, the Tau 330’s integrated chill roller is ideal for processing thin, heat-sensitive materials, such as aluminum foils for blister packs, yogurt cup lids and more. In addition, Hulme said, the integrated inert gas system reduces the typical odors of UV inkjet printing so that the requirements of the food and pharmaceutical industries regarding low-odor printing processes are fulfilled.
Laser finishing with the Tau 330 LFS
Mike Bacon, VP of sales & marketing at Durst technology partner Spartanics, described the development of an inline laser finishing system for the Tau 330. Marketed as the Tau 330 LFS. The complete system offers automatic end-to-end processing, from printing to the final diecut product.
“The diecut shape is created automatically by the DFE software and sent to the laser finishing system with the printing data at the same time,” Bacon explained. “Using a bar code, which is output with the printing order, the system selects the correct shape and automatically produces the die for the corresponding job.” For full refinement, the Tau 330 can be expanded with optional UV coating and lamination units.
Rochester, NY, USA-based TLF Graphics is the first user of the Tau 330 LFS. On hand at Digital Days was Bob McJury, TLF’s vice president of sales marketing, who shared his company’s experiences with the end-to-end system. For TLF, the decision to acquire the Tau 330 LFS was made in November of 2014, and by that December, the new system was installed and the team trained. Production began a month later, in January 2015. McJury described a host of products made of coated and uncoated materials produced with the Tau 330 LFS to event participants. He drew special attention to image quality, durability and scratch-resistance, which are important quality features in industrial labeling, product decoration and trade.
McJury emphasized the importance of quick turnaround at TLF and how the Durst Tau 330 LFS helps support that. He said, “We’re fast – super fast. And we continualy invest in technology and the latest printing eqiuipment to meet our customers' demands. Our Durst press gives us short run quick-turn printing with near photographic quality.” He then detailed a comparison of several different types of jobs where he pitted screen printing versus printing with the Tau 330 LFS. By shifting from silkscreen printing to the Tau 330, TLF Graphics was able to reduce the amount of time required by up to 740 minutes (four-color printing, print run of 2,500 units). With regard to laser finishing, McJury pointed out the different standard US sizes and the limitation in material strengths. Here as well, though, he was enthusiastic about Durst and Spartanics, who confronted the challenge and developed appropriate solutions.
Rako’s experience
Roger Gehrke, manager of the Digital Printing Division of the Rako Group, one of the largest label manufacturers in Europe, shared his experiences with the Tau 330. Gehrke said that since Rako’s Tau 330 installation in October 2013, only a single print head has failed, and only four maintenance tasks were required in 2014. “The Tau 330 had 95% uptime in 24-hour operation, and not a single customer complaint was filed,” he said.
To Rako, the Tau 330 has been the perfect investment for minimizing the conversion expenses from traditional silkscreen printing. At the Hamburg location alone, these expenses amount to more than €2m, only some of which could be passed on to customers. Accordingly, the Tau 330 is being used for small print runs and late-stage versioning. Roger Gehrke also pointed out the outstanding image quality and the high-coverage white, which is used on many cosmetics labels. Thanks to the additional process colors, customers are also able to reproduce nearly 90% of the Pantone color space.
Coming soon to Labelexpo
At Labelexpo Europe in September, Durst will be unveiling a completely new Tau 330 system, which will include large unwinding and rewinding units for roll lengths up to 4,000 running meters. To make entry into the world of UV printing attractive to smaller label manufacturers as well, Durst is also planning to introduce a more cost-effective version of the Tau 330 printing system. The Tau 330 E will feature the same print quality but a smaller set of features and options.