Gallus, a Heidelberg-owned subsidiary, showcased the 440mm (17-inch) flexo machine platform that can run at a speed of 200m/min to a group of journalists on 19 September, a day ahead of the second Gallus Innovation Days at its plant in St Gallan. The first was held in September 2014.

Stephan Plenz, member of the Heidelberg management board responsible for equipment, said, the new Labelmaster is built on the design principle of Speedmaster offset printing presses, and “harnesses the great synergies of Gallus and Heidelberg” in its development.

He added, “A modular design and a reduction in complexity benefit both sets of customers, sheetfed and label market, and make them more competitive.”

Still a prototype, the Labelmaster is made up of two modules, each comprising of two printing units driven directly by two servo motors. The press will be available in three different variants – a basic version, “Classic” covering all the required standards for label printing; a more flexible “Plus” version; and the “Advanced” version configured to meet the needs in the level of automation.

The modular system offers among other things, a new locking system that Gallus claims, makes it easy to change printing units accurately.

“By opting for a modular system, Gallus is ensuring that label printers can satisfy prevailing market requirements and stay fit for the future at all times,” said Christof Naier, vice president for sales and services label business and a member of the executive committee at Gallus. “And this at a price that were not previously possible for premium products.”

Gallus, however, did not disclose the pricing of the new press.

Among the new features are the lightweight aluminium printing cylinders, a short web path of 1.1m from printing unit to printing unit, and an optimised ink duct for the chambered doctor blade which needs just 250 g of ink.

It can also be equipped with the newly developed screen printing unit, and Naier said, the press supports a wide range of substrates – from paper and PE to PP and foil.

Klaus Bachstein, the chief executive officer for Gallus Group, said “It’s a press that our customers can configure, as he expands. The three module variants is the way a customer can get to the right press for his business model. We have used the Heidelberg structural principles experience to develop the Labelmaster that is good for conventional labels as well as package printing, all with an excellent price-performance ratio.”

The Labelmaster is currently under test at an unnamed customer site in Switzerland, and the first series deliveries are scheduled for the second quarter of 2017.