Combining almost 50 years’ flexo printing market experience from Italy with world-acclaimed engineering from Germany, Koenig & Bauer has officially unveiled its XD Pro CI Flexo next generation press. The press, the company said, takes performance reliability, process consistency and efficiency to new levels of productivity.
The Koenig & Bauer XD Pro all-round press has been launched to meet just-in-time market demands for short-run production agility for added-value sustainable flexible packaging. A new member of the CI-Flexo product portfolio, this new addition addresses main markets in flexible packaging, as well as synthetics and fibre-based packaging applications, the company said.
Designed for cost-efficient premium print quality on a wide range of printing widths from 1,000-1,400 mm and substrate thicknesses, using solvent and water-based inks at speeds of up to 500m/min, the XD Pro from Koenig & Bauer can be configured with 8 color printing decks as well as with 10. Additional downstream units can provide coating, laminating or patterned lacquering. All processes are completed in a single pass.
Typical printing substrates for the Koenig & Bauer XD Pro CI Flexo press include film, breathable, stretchable, shrinkable, laminates and paper in a variety of print lengths ranging from 330-850mm. Customized configurations through modular design incorporate many options, all ensuring an outstanding price-performance ratio.
“With the trend toward packaging recyclability gathering speed, the focus is on the design and production of the original package in a more sustainable way with thinner and more easily recyclable materials,” said Christoph Müller, CEO of Koenig & Bauer’s Segment Digital & Webfed division. “As the press manufacturer with the broadest range of industry products, the XD Pro further expands our portfolio in flexible packaging. We believe it will become the product of choice to overcome many of the market challenges. And we are confident of having significant sales successes.”
Oliver Baar, Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed director of Product Management-Commercial, said, “The XD Pro combines almost 50 years of Italian flexo market experience with German engineering. It represents the best in class and adds value for money to customers by providing outstanding performance reliability, process consistency and versatility from state-of-the-art technology.
“This is an ideal press conceived to meet just-in-time market requirements for more production agility of short runs, as it features unrivaled ergonomic design with easier accessibility to the print units, plus advanced automation for fast changeover times with minimum waste. The modular design of the new generation, fully automatic, flexographic central impression press allows the combination in-line of different product printing and finishing as well as converting modules incorporating special applications and complementary printing techniques such as rotogravure, offset or digital.”
