In the face of progressive globalization, brand companies with an international sales and production infrastructure also have a growing need for additional packaging variants, a more individual sales approach, and a shorter time-to-market. This increases complexity and the risk of defects in packaging production. On the other hand, the digitization of all key process steps in production offers a way of greatly reducing this risk of defects, or even eliminating it altogether. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) and its Swiss subsidiary Gallus will therefore be presenting a range of solutions and measures aimed at automating quality assurance and control, all integrated in the entire workflow and the participating machines in an intelligently networked production environment, under the motto Smart Print Shop – Zero Defect Packaging at the upcoming interpack, taking place from 4 to 10 May in Düsseldorf. These solutions and measures are designed to boost the international competitiveness of packaging producers by enabling reliable, productive, and economical production, especially of defect-free, high-quality folding cartons and labels in offset, digital, and flexo printing.
With its presence at the trade fair, Heidelberg also wants to underline the strategic significance of the growth market of packaging and label printing for the further economic development of the company.
“The appearance of packagings at the point of sales has a direct influence on the purchase decision and the brand experience of consumers. Depending on the market segment, poorly produced packagings – even just variations in color – can result in loss of image as well as a high liability risk. The Heidelberg promise of Zero Defect Packaging therefore fulfills the requirements of brand companies for flawless packagings from an aesthetic, legal, functional, and marketing point of view,” says Stephan Plenz, member of the management board responsible for equipment at Heidelberg. “Heidelberg is the leading provider in the industry that can guarantee digitized and industrial packaging production with a defect-free, standardized end result. Our intention is to continue to expand our offering in this growth market.”
Trade fair presentation
Visitors to the interpack trade fair, especially from brand companies, packaging producers and print shops, will be able to speak to experts and get detailed information about the various topics relating to defect-free, industrialized packaging printing at Heidelberg’s Stand in Hall 13. The appearance by Heidelberg and Gallus at interpack will focus on the following: the question of a color management system that can span different sites and production methods, the reduction of complexity and therefore susceptibility to defects as well as the means to safely and reliably identify incorrectly printed products without delay and remove them directly from the press or postpress process while production is underway. As part of this process, Heidelberg will show how a zero-defect principle can be implemented across the entire production process, from prepress through press to postpress.
Prinect Packaging workflow plays a key role
The integrated Prinect Packaging workflow developed by Heidelberg plays a key role in laying the foundations for industrialized production. It enables automation of the workflows – from order acceptance, through structural design, prepress, and press through to postpress – and facilitates intelligent communication between the areas in order to prevent defects. Using Prinect as a central business intelligence platform, all the management and production processes in a print shop, including customers and suppliers, can be intelligently integrated and centrally controlled. Prinect integrates Heidelberg’s offset and digital printing systems into one continuous workflow, and offers comprehensive functions for quality assurance and documentation as well as standardization and production of repeat jobs. This also includes the latest versions of the Prinect Inpress Control color measurement system and Prinect Image Control control system as well as the Prinect Inspection Control printed sheet inspection system, which are crucial for defect-free production. The end result is a fully automated and industrialized printing process where manual interventions are reduced to a minimum.
Navigated printing prevents operating defects and increases productivity
Navigated printing is made possible by Heidelberg’s patented Intellistart 2 software. Automatic processes are autonomous completed in parallel and in a logical sequence insofar as possible. Intellistart 2 automatically calculates the quickest sequence for the job change and reliably and safely navigates the operator through the makeready process.
Zero defects in digital packaging and label production
Heidelberg is responding to the demand for serial or even customized packagings and labels with the Primefire 106, the first digital printing system in B1 format for industrialized printing applications, presented at drupa as well as the Gallus Labelfire 340 for digital label production.
The Primefire 106 features Perfect Stack technology for automatically removing incorrectly printed sheets from the process and immediately and correctly reprinting them. Integrated barcodes and QR codes or even serial numbers can also be added to all sheets for complete traceability. The Gallus Labelfire label printing system also provides the option of individually identifying entire packages or even the individual label. Inspection systems can be used to register locations in packages with missing labels as well as incorrectly printed or damaged labels so they can be corrected in downstream systems by removing or reprinting them.
Gallus will also be presenting its new process, Metallic Doming. It can be used to produce raised textures with metallic luster on plastic substrates using rotary screen printing. The result is a haptic sensation that could previously only be produced using hot-foil embossing on paper substrates. Effects of this type are now also possible on tube laminates as well as PP and PE substrates thanks to Metallic Doming.
Clearing the final hurdles in postpress
The Diana Eye offline inspection system uses a reading device or camera to measure the image and contour as well as finishing effects – including coated surfaces, foils, and holograms – in each individual folding carton blank and compares everything against a reference image. Tolerances can be set and deviating results are automatically removed.
Heidelberg Zero Defect Packaging Info Day in Wiesloch
Directly after interpack and continuing the trade fair motto, packaging printers will have the opportunity to see a comprehensive overview of the company’s range of digital and offset printing presses, the Prinect business intelligence platform, and services and consumables for defect-free packaging printing as part of a Heidelberg Info Day ‘Zero Defect Packaging’ on 10 May in the Print Media Center Packaging at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site. Experts from Heidelberg will be available for all questions and to discuss details.