Labelexpo Day 1: HP shows raft of developments including digital pouch factory

With one of the biggest stands at the show, HP is awash with new developments including a full digital factory for flexible pouches.

Currie Group director of labels and packaging Mark Daws has described the new technologies as “great news for print businesses looking to operate in higher margin areas”.

Digital embellishing is being shown in various formats, with a Kurz Jetliner operating with an HP Indigo, an HP Gem system, and the ABG Digicon digital foiling system all on display.

The company had a complete digital pouchmaking factory on the floor, with an HP Indigo 20000 with inline coater, a laminating system, and a Karlville pouchmaking line all working in tandem to produce the pouches.

Daws said, “The R&D at HP Indigo is huge, and is resulting in new solutions to enable print business owners to go to market with exciting propositions for their clients. The sheer level of innovation on the booth today is staggering.”

Brand protection and security is a major feature of the stand, according to Daws.

“New developments such as Taggant inks, which are specifically developed for one customer or one job enabling track and trace, are setting HP apart as it seeks to provide opportunities for print businesses to operate in what can be a high margin world of security,” he said.

HP itself points to the systems on the stand at drupa last time out, which are all now available and in the market, as evidence of its understanding of the needs of the market and its customers.

For brand protection, HP is coupling new software and cloud-based solutions that allow anti-counterfeiting marks, micro text fonts, and protected track and trace solutions; converters can offer layered security, static or serialised, for brand protection.

Visitors saw live printing of shrink sleeves on the HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press and inline coating with the ABG ILC 762, followed by converting on beer cans at the adjacent Karlville stand.

The HP Indigo GEM integrated with the HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press is producing digital spot and tactile varnishes, digital foils, and a range of other creative effects. The one-pass solution needs only one operator and one digital file per job.

The new inline Kurz DM-Jetliner digital metallisation solution with the HP Indigo 6900 is making its Labelexpo debut, demonstrating silver and gold digital foiling.

Another new ink, HP Indigo ElectroInk Fade Resistant Orange, is being released to complete a seven-colour ink set for outdoor label applications requiring high lightfastness.

HP is presenting new sustainable packaging solutions and new credentials including Green Leaf sustainability mark from Intertek for the HP Indigo 6900, HP Indigo 8000, and HP Indigo 20000, independently verifying the digital presses for environmental credentials.

Deinking tests have been conducted by Cadel Deinking of Spain, verifying that HP Indigo digitally printed flexible packaging, including coating, can be fully deinked. The results on a range of substrates open new ways for brands and service providers to work towards higher sustainability, where deinking is an essential stage in the recycling process.

New workflow offerings released at Labelexpo for HP Indigo digital press users include an enhanced Esko Automation Engine for HP Production Pro for HP Indigo Labels and Packaging, which enables HP Indigo users to boost productivity while using Esko DeskPack templates.

Web2Pack workflow solutions powered by PrintOS Site Flow, and partner solutions for automating end-to-end packaging fulfillment, will deliver dozens of jobs per day with minimum touchpoints.

HP is presenting new advancements at Labelexpo including PrintOS Enhanced Productivity Mode (EPM) Preflight for Labels and Packaging, replacing manual file analysis and offering an effortless way to check the compatibility of PDF files for printing 33 per cent faster using three colours.

Visitors are also seeing HP PrintOS Marketplace – a disruptive cloud-based solutions community to enable on-demand subscription to a wide variety of value-add workflow apps and licenses, plus a new community of ideas, services and more, from HP and any third-party vendor for customers to share, sell, upload, and download designs and solutions.

HP Service Edge is launching a new service for HP Indigo digital press customers that enables the prediction of potential press issues or failures before they occur. The HP Predictive Press Care service uses artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time press data algorithms to analyse press status.