Labelexpo 2022 preview: DuPont-HP Indigo

DuPont | Stand L20

DuPont will present its latest technologies and solutions alongside live demonstrations for platemaking to improve label printing/converting and create new business goals. In its booth, DuPont will focus on high-performing innovative technologies to address label converters’ challenges to achieve their sustainability, productivity, and quality goals.The highlight will be the DuPont Cyrel FAST, which has been leading solventless, thermal flexo platemaking for the last 20+ years with more than 1,500 units installed around the world. The system offers superior productivity and performance while helping to reduce processing costs, time, and environmental impact compared to the existing solvent method. The system is an achievement of more than 20 years of continuous evolution and investment into this platform and has resulted in more than 1,500 installations globally. 

Eltech Engineers | Stand K34

Eltech Engineers, the manufacturer and exporter of a wide range of corona treatment systems, plasma treatment systems, static eliminators and ionisers, will showcase its Label Flexo Corona Treaters used in narrow-web label flexo printing presses. The high-definition ridge type ceramic electrodes ensure efficient treatment of metalised as well as non-metalised substrates. Eltech’s high-quality corona systems are accurate, efficient, and controllable to ensure that the converter always applies exactly the right level of treatment in a situation where too much is as bad as too little. A proven design, built and fully tested at its plant prior to dispatch to the customer’s site, Eltech’s corona system can be easily installed on all major label presses.

Esko | Stand L20

Esko will showcase the benefits of plate room automation and inline print inspection at Labelexpo. At its stall, visitors will discover how the latest Esko innovations deliver workflow improvements to boost both digital print productivity and operational efficiencies. The company will demonstrate how its portfolio of hardware and software solutions enable businesses to better digitise, automate and connect to accelerate the go-to-market process of packaged goods.  At its stand, the CDI 4835 and XPS Crystal 4260, in combination with the new Flexo Engine module, will demonstrate how digitisation in flexo production also boosts efficiency while delivering the best quality plates.

Epson | Stand H39

Epson, which is relaunching its SurePress range of presses in India, will utilise the Labelexpo platform to do so. Having taken a four-year break, Vasudevan, general manager, large format printers/industrial equipment, said, Epson was not directly present. “But we were getting enquiries for our label press. We have now relaunched these products in the Indian market, and we are confident that we will get a positive response from the market.” He added, “Earlier we just had one model to offer and its productivity was not comparable with analog presses. Even the customers expectation was the printing speed to be at least 45-50-m/min. With the launch of the new product – the Epson SurePress L-6534VW, we should be able to meet customers’ expectations on productivity.”

Flexo Wash | Stand N7

The company, which offers innovative and high-quality cleaning solutions to ensure customers to have consistent print quality and high productivity with focus on safe working conditions and sustainability, will showcase its fully automatic FW Handy Mini 2 anilox roll cleaner with room for two aniloxes per wash. This is the entry model, which offers less liquid consumption with two-roller cleaning and attached filter to prolong the life of the liquid. The FW Handy Mini 2 will help customers to achieve consistently high print quality, minimise waste of ink and substrate; ensure an even higher output on the press; shorter set-up time; increase the lifetime of aniloxes and minimal press downtime.

Flueron Inks | Stand H12

Flueron has been busy developing new-age compliant products, which gives converters the latitude in colour gamut, lower ink consumption, higher line anilox printing, higher line screening use on plates and more importantly, the choice to run UV as well as LED with the same ink. Its monoKURE series of products are aligned to today’s need of higher strength inks, with the choice to run UV-LED options. These are compatible with both UV or LED. This gives converters the choice to develop their own brand colours without being limited to the Pantone reference guides, thereby protecting the jobs they print and keeping the brand married to them.

GEW (EC) | Stand J31

As UV LED has really been brought to the forefront with increased energy costs, the company will be showcasing its new AeroLED air-cooled LED system. The AeroLEDlamphead is air-cooled, which removes the need for a water-cooled chiller. The RLT control system can run both the AeroLED and its E2C UV arc lamphead, so customers can have an interchangeable system from LED and arc, on the same press, which gives the flexibility when upgrading to UV LED for certain applications. If a customer has an RLT control system with E2C, then they can easily upgrade to AeroLED by just purchasing the AeroLED cassette. Everything else stays the same on the system, so that means all UV systems that have been supplied since 2018 can be upgraded to LED, so a truly future-proof system, even if the customers did not know this at the time.

Gulf Packaging Industries | Stand N11

Gulf Packaging Industries of Saudi Arabia is one of the largest producers of BOPP films in the Middle East region. The company offers a portfolio of more than 100 film grades used in a wide range of applications, such as labels, flexible packaging and graphics arts. At the show, the company will showcase its BOPP films for labels, and will launch films for in-mould labels.

Holostik | Stand TBD

Holostik will launch several new products at Labelexpo 2022. The nano optical image OVDs (optically variable devices) are secure and technologically advanced security holograms. The master of these OVDs is shot at a resolution above 6,00,00-dpi. Optashield, based on custom holographic technology, displays two different colours at two different viewing angles. The 3D labels (printed OVDs) are embedded with aesthetic elements, designs and security features. The half-scratch QR Code comes with a half scratch layer over the QR code, preventing replication and tampering of the QR code. Paper labels with holographic strips are secure and visually appealing paper labels with holographic strips transferred over it.

HP Indigo | Stand G18

HP Indigo and TechNova will run live demonstrations of its new printing solutions in the labels and packaging business. These include the HP Indigo 6K digital press, the HP Indigo Pack Ready and HP SmartStream Collage. HP will also showcase a range of applications from worldwide converters transforming and growing business with HP Indigo’s Liquid Electrophotography (LEP)-based digital printing, demonstrating why brands worldwide and in all industries prefer HP Indigo label and packaging solutions. HP is inviting the visitors to its booth to explore the ability to print anything at any length by leveraging its technologies, and see how its customers can automate and optimise their production floors with powerful press and workflows. “We believe in limitless possibilities with HP Indigo digital printing solutions and showcasing innovative labels and packaging applications from around the world and India during the show. “We are happy to showcase some of the very interesting projects from Indian as well as global brands featuring products of Indian start-ups and big global brands during the show which are truly made in India products. These unique projects were implemented by our esteemed HP Indigo users in India,” said A Appadurai, country business manager for HP Indigo and PageWide Web Press at HP India.