It is only 92 days to the leading international trade fair for print and cross-media
solutions – drupa 2016 which started its pre-drupa media conference on 29 February at Dusseldorf, Germany. Under the motto, ‘touch the future,’ drupa places the industry’s innovative power centre stage and aims to provide a platform for future technologies. The focus is especially on next-generation and highlight themes such as print, packaging production, multichannel, 3D printing, functional printing or green printing.
The world premiere of the drupa world song was the first highlight of the event. The first presentation of the day was from Messe Dusseldorf itself about the show. Claus Bolza Schunemann, chairman of the drupa advisory board and president, KBA, Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, president and CEO, Messe Dusseldorf and Sabine Geldermann, director, drupa 2016 and global head printing technology, Messe Dusseldorf were present to inform the assembled 70 odd journalists from all parts of the globe about the latest information from the show.
“With the strategic reorientation and its focus on future and highlight themes we are obviously on the right track because the response of international upstream suppliers to the industry has been very good – which was not a given in view of the difficult market environment,” says Werner Dornscheidt. Till date, around 1,650 exhibitors from over 50 countries are confirmed spreading over 19 halls.
The mega trend at drupa 2016 will be Print 4.0 as Schunemann says, “Print 4.0 enables individualization and personalization in digital printing. In the face of high-quality packaging and the rapidly diversifying range of solutions in industrial and functional printing this digital networking of machines and systems offers the solution and guarantee for efficiency and competitiveness. Print 4.0 is the mega trend at drupa 2016 which is clear today.”
Another highlight theme at drupa 2016 is 3D printing. “The spare parts business, mechanical engineering or packaging design offer great opportunities for machine producers, users and also print service providers,” says Sabine Geldermann.
Kodak’s greener offset and flexo plates and Ultrastream inkjet
Kodak announced a series of new products to be featured at Hall 5 Stand F09 at drupa 2016. With a broad range of new developments and enhancements, Kodak continues to be leading innovator in the the evolution of the graphic arts industry.
Building on its record of introducing important technology innovations at drupa, Kodak will this year announce a new process free plate. With global demand for its process free Sonora plates growing to over 3,000 customers, Kodak’s latest addition to the Sonora portfolio is designed to meet the rigorous demands of UV print applications. At drupa 2016, Kodak will also showcase Kodak Aqua-Image – pressroom chemicals range to help printers reduce variability and improve performance in the pressroom and Kodak Electra Max – thermal plates and Libra VP digital plates for commercial and newspaper printers.
Debuting at drupa 2016 will be the new Flexcel NX System ’16, which builds on Kodak’s award-winning NX Advantage technology. Brand new system features include NX tags for the application of multiple patterns on a single plate layout, and Advanced Edge Definition, a Kodak patented technology that controls ink flow at the edge of objects, resulting in cleaner print and greater visual edge definition. Kodak’s stand at drupa 2016 will feature an Ultra NX Experience room to showcase environmentally-conscious flexo plate technology.
Kodak will also launch its next generation inkjet technology platform, Ultrastream Inkjet Technology. Built on the company’s continuous inkjet stream technology, Ultrastream will move production inkjet into the mainstream of commercial printing and packaging.
HP automation and cloud-based HP PrintOS
At the Dusseldorf preview, HP announced that it will exhibit the industry’s broadest portfolio of digital printing solutions at drupa 2016, including new advancements that demonstrate how HP digital print technology enables print service providers (PSPs) to reinvent their possibilities. The company unveiled HP PrintOS, a cloud-based operating system that reinvents how customers manage print production. The new platform will make its worldwide debut at drupa 2016.
The HP Graphics Solutions Business is hosting the tradeshow’s largest exhibit in Hall 17 and the world’s biggest digital printing showcase for the 11-day event. In keeping with the evolving landscape of drupa, HP will display its latest technology for the general commercial printing segment, in addition to new hardware and solutions for labels and packaging, large-format and sign and display application areas.
“HP is bringing the full power of our vast portfolio of digital printing solutions to drupa 2016, featuring breakthrough innovations,” said Rob Le Bras-Brown, global head of print marketing, HP. “With today’s introduction of HP PrintOS and more ground-breaking pre-drupa announcements to come, HP is following through on our promise to ‘keep reinventing’ with advancements across application segments that truly enable our customers to reinvent their possibilities.” An open, secure and integrated platform for print production management, PrintOS is a cloud-based operating system ideal for PSPs of all segments and sizes for use with HP Indigo, its PageWide web press, and Scitex and Latex digital printing technology.
Featuring a suite of intuitive web-based and mobile applications, PrintOS helps simplify and automate print production, enabling customers to start printing jobs, faster. Additionally, cloud connectivity allows customers to monitor print status remotely as well as track and improve production performance over time. HP Indigo and PageWide Web Press customers can begin using PrintOS on 31 May 2016. Many apps will be available without charge to existing customers with a service contract, while other apps will be subject to monthly subscription and usage charges.
Kolbus launches at drupa
The book binding specialist Kolbus will host one of the biggest exhibits at this show, with a 1,400 square metre stand packed with innovations. The Kolbus book manufacturing division will present 3D Format Variation of books on a running machine without stopping for makeready. The key elements of this presentation are the KM 200 zero-make-ready perfect binder with newly enhanced 3D Format Variation capabilities and the brand-new HD-HD 143 three-knife-trimmer. This new zero-make-ready trimmer can trim books of different thickness, different heights and different widths without stopping for format adjustment. This will be one of the technology highlights at drupa 2016.
Chris Payne, general manager, Flexographic Packaging Solutions, Kodak. Photo PSA
As always, this is all industrial scale equipment, capable of producing thousands of books an hour just as easily as runs of one book. For feeding printed signatures into the system, Kolbus will demonstrate the full versatility of its approach. For digital web-fed printing, the bookbinding system will be fed by the WF 100 Webfolder. With a capacity of up to 1.5 million pages an hour in its current, standard version, the Kolbus Webfolder has the potential to start working today and outlast several generations of digital presses.
Alternatively the KM 200 is also equipped for feeding of book blocks or even stacks of loose sheets. Furthermore, the KM 200 can easily be switched from paperback to hardcover book blocks. At drupa 2016, Kolbus will demonstrate this capability and, at the same time, introduce its brand new Hardcover Book-line BF 513. This machine will make all the zero-make-ready features of the flagship BF 530 Bookjet-Edition available for the economical 30 books a minute category.
Kolbus’ commercial and publishing printing division will present the brand new KM 610 perfect binder. This new line of machines, running upwards from 5,000 books an hour, will be displayed in its 7,000 book an hour version. The KM 610 series has been newly designed to incorporate the user interface structure of the future, taking ease of operation to a higher level. As a special feature at drupa, Kolbus will be running the new KM 610 binder at full speed through the new digital zero-make-ready 3-knife-trimmer HD-HD 143, thereby displaying the unparalleled hybrid capabilities engineered within the Kolbus system.
Luxury packaging
Kolbus’ youngest division that will put the most sensational exhibit on display. For the luxury packaging industry, an innovative production system for rigid boxes has been developed. At its drupa stand, Kolbus will be producing rigid cardboard boxes with lids and metal fasteners on a fully automatic continuous flow line. Demonstrated at an unprecedented running speed of more than 2,000 boxes an hour, format changeovers will be shown to be just as easy as on a modern Kolbus case maker.
For the luxury packaging industry, this is the beginning of a new era. For the first time, product changes will be done by resetting a machine, rather than retooling it. It will again be possible to produce luxury packaging in the same, affluent economies where luxury goods are sold. Minimum order quantities will drop dramatically, opening luxury goods market to small, artisanal manufacturers. And the famous mega-brands will get the possibility to fine tune their production to sales trends on a weekly rather than an annual basis. At the same time, the product quality that can be achieved is far superior to today’s market standards.
Workflow 4.0 design
On top of all this, there will be a lot of focus on the Kolbus approach to workflow design and systems control, especially in view of the approaching era of Industry 4.0. On the occasion of the pre-drupa 2016 International Media Conference, Kolbus has put its XML syntax, in other words, the language that Kolbus machines speak, on the internet for free download for everyone.
Packaging South Asia is the cooperating media partner for drupa 2016 which is scheduled to be held from 31 May to 10 June at Dusseldorf, Germany
