Koenig and Bauer Durst plans to bring the VariJet 106 to market with the first installation of the single-pass digital printing press at a customer site early 2021, prior to a formal unveiling at the rearranged Drupa next April.
Targeting the folding carton industry, the B1 6,000sph VariJet 106 integrates inkjet technology into the Rapida 106 offset platform.
The announcements from the joint venture company that make it also include updates on its single-pass corrugated presses - the Delta SPC 130 and the CorruJet 170 - which have a specific focus on delivering for the stringent requirements of the packaging sector.
A digital priming unit for uncoated media will broaden the applications customers can address on the Delta SPC 130, and special colours being introduced for the fifth and sixth colour stations to meet brand colour requirements.
The Delta SPC 130 FlexLine Automatic can manage small formats from 500 x 600mm through to very large formats with maximum dimensions of 1,300 x 2,100 (optionally 1,300 x 2,800 mm) and print a maximum thickness of 12 mm with water-based, food safe inks. The machine includes feeder, six-colour single-pass printing, cooling section and stacker.
For the CorruJet 170, successful beta testing has been completed at the Kolb Group in Bavaria, Germany, a company that develops and produces packaging, packaging materials and specialist products made in corrugated cardboard. Based on Koenig & Bauer’s RotaJet inkjet web press for commercial printing, The CorruJet 170 post-prints sheets of corrugated up to 1.7m wide at up to 137m/min on water based, food safe inks.
Robert Stabler, MD, Koenig and Bauer Durst, said: “We’re really excited by the opportunities and progress with our much-anticipated VariJet 106. We have a number of existing customers that would like to be beta sites, and we plan to show them the press after the summer. The customer we choose will have a vision for mass customisation and be a good partner for a beta site. Feedback from our customers is that shorter run lengths, mass customisation and the need to be more agile are the compelling reasons for moving to digital production.
“Successful companies need to be able to embrace the trends that are occurring and offer solutions. Brand owners continually want their products to stand out, require shorter lead times, while at the same time eliminate waste and conform to sustainability and track-and-trace requirements. Brand owners are also looking to ensure the new production methods are reliable, compliant and cost effective while converters need to have the capabilities and competencies to mass customise without any compromise on quality. We deliver on this.”
