At the Printpack India 2022 exhibition, manroland Goss web systems India highlighted its offset-gravure hybrid press, Varioman f: line; and Varioman c: line. Varioman f: line marks manroland’s foray into the packaging domain. The hybrid press that prints on films offers a low-priced production process at the highest quality. Printable substrates include films or paper from 10-300 microns. The range includes options for different web widths and a production speed of up to 400 m/min.
“As a company, we are quite strong in legacy printing. But now we have also put a special emphasis on the growing packaging printing market. We have positioned ourselves for this segment with our Varioman lines – Varioman f: line, a hybrid press that prints on films; and Varioman c: line that prints on cartons. We also have the Varioman b: line for book printing,” said Sudeep Bhattacharjee, managing director of manroland Goss web systems India.
At the exhibition, the company also showcased various samples printed on Varioman f: line and Varioman c: line in addition to its range of offerings.
Offset vs. gravure
Bhattacharjee said, “Although offset is not a new technology, nobody has been able to successfully use it for printing on films. So, this is something that we have been working towards since 2018. Generally, people think that offset cannot match the rotogravure quality – but that concept has itself become very old now. Worldwide we have already sold five Varioman lines. With the latest in automation and technology, offset has been able to set a new benchmark for webfed offset printing presses by delivering quality that is at par with gravure.
“In addition, offset also has the added advantage of using non-UV inks that are free from carcinogenic photo initiators and also VOC free due to EB-based curing technology. This makes it immensely popular in segments like food packaging. The Varioman press also gives a huge cost benefit to customers as the press uses aluminum offset plates instead of gravure cylinders. The offset technology enables low-priced and reproducible high printing quality. The additional usage of gravure printing equipment in the press enables integration and automation across all systems.”
Bhattacharjee shared that the combination of technologies in the Varioman f: line, particularly the quality of the printed product from the offset side, combined with the benefits provided by gravure printing (in the areas of varnishing, adhesives, and opaque white) provide the quality and differentiation that a modern package printing operation requires.
