Luxury packaging printer to install Primefire 106

Folding carton printing company Arkay Packaging in Virginia has signed a contract for a Heidelberg Primefire 106, with the company saying it wants to “expand its position as a technological leader in the market for luxury packaging”.

The Primefire 106 will be the second to go into the US for Heidelberg, with models also operating in Europe and Japan. It is the world's first B1 sheetfed printing system, and is based on the Heidelberg XL chassis with Fujifilm print heads.

Arkay Packaging is a third-generation family-run company with a long tradition of producing top-quality folding cartons. Its regular clients include some of the world’s best known companies and brands. Arkay has positioned itself as an innovator and market leader in this highly competitive segment. Its portfolio includes premium folding cartons for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and wines and spirits.

Walt Shiels, COO of Arkay said, “We are highly motived to use the latest digital technologies for packaging printing to develop new business models, to future-proof ourselves, and to set ourselves apart from the competition.”

The Primefire 106 is based on the platform of the Speedmaster XL 106, of which Arkay has four in its plant. An important purchase criterion for Shiels was the comprehensive mapping of the Pantone colour space, which is achieved with the seven colours of the Primefire 106. In addition, the digital printing system offers 1200 x 1200dpi, and is designed for a volume of up to 1.5 million sheets per month. Arkay Packaging will be able to choose between digital and offset printing in the future depending on the run length, as the results can be optimally coordinated with each other.

Arkay is a long-standing customer of Heidelberg, and also recently installed a new Diana X 115 folder/gluer. It plans to put the Primefire 106 into operation at the beginning of the new year. “Heidelberg now has several Primefire 106 installations on three continents where the industrial digital printing system is being sold today,” explained Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Head of Business Unit Digital at Heidelberg.

“We’re proud that a well-known company like Arkay is investing in the Primefire 106. The trust placed in us is further proof of the technological edge of the Primefire 106 and its diverse applications, whether in the cosmetics, food, pharmaceuticals or luxury goods segments. I’m looking forward to seeing how Arkay works with its customers’ brand managers to develop new and innovative business models in the luxury segment.”

The world’s first standard-production Heidelberg Primefire 106 has been in production at Warneke Paper Box for the past 10 months.