BOBST, along with Mouvent and 12 REVO partners, has unveiled major new innovations that will help to redefine the future of labels and packaging production. Converters and brand owners attending the BOBST Labels & Packaging Innovation event in Florence (April 1st– 4th) have been the first to see the new solutions in action. The event addressed three key industry needs: improving time-to-market, guaranteeing color consistency and monitoring food packaging safety.

BOBST showcased two revolutionary solutions, which will change the established flexo process.

  • The new Ink-on-Demand (IoD) system eliminates ink trays and chambered doctor blades. It only requires 30 grams of ink in the print unit to operate. Full wash-out and ink change are performed in minutes with only a few grams of ink and washing liquid wasted. This will establish a new benchmark in the market, reducing costs and environmental burdens.
  • The new DigiColor system performs “on-the-fly” job changes of color Delta E. Each of the seven Extended Color Gamut (ECG) inks is split into a darker and a lighter ink, which are mixed in-line to match the targeted Delta E. Closed-Loop color control of DigiColor achieves “digital” color-matching, color consistency at any speed, on any substrate, with any operator worldwide. Converters and brand-owners will now be able to rely on a new “digital” technology to protect their brand identities. Converters will benefit from major time savings and quality improvement benefits.

BOBST also presented a world premiere for a solution that enables the full traceability of every piece of packaging. In collaboration with ESKO, AVT, Pantone and X-Rite, the new solution allows the “digital” traceability from the original file, to the press, to the job validation and final storage of digital data generated from the final printed job. It is built on the BOBST Digital Flexo technology and combines WebCenter, ColorCert, SpectraLab and PantoneLive assets. This enables a fully digitalized and connected workflow, transforming the way labels and flexible packaging can be done – timely, with the right quality control and the proper costs.

The traceability project is based in the REVO Academy in BOBST Firenze. The REVO Academy is open to converters worldwide to test and get training on turnkey ECG solutions, delivered by the 12 REVO Members and Partners.

Meanwhile, Mouvent, the digital printing competence center of the Bobst Group, showcased the recently announced LB702-UV digital press. There will be live demos of the machine at 100 m/min with 6 colors and 1200 dpi resolution on multiple jobs and various substrates. The LB702-UV will set a new benchmark for digital label printing, combining, quality, speed and affordability, without any trade-off.

During the event, BOBST Flexo and Mouvent Digital presses also showcased how different print technologies on different substrates can achieve the same Delta E, maintaining accurate color consistency. This is very important as brand owners have various requirements, which can’t always be met by one technology only.

Finally, BOBST is providing brand owners and converters with new opportunities to increase the safety of food packaging. In collaboration with Flint, GEW and the UVFoodSafe Alliance, BOBST announced the digital control of UV energy. This allows for the unique safety traceability of each printed meter of substrate, opening new opportunities for UV printed food packaging production with new food safety certifications. Compared to solvent and water-based inks, UV inks achieve higher print quality and color consistency combined with the absence of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), improving ink stability and sustainability.

“The label and packaging industry is clearly going digital, in terms of processes, value creation, and new business models”, said Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of BOBST. “The collaboration between partners is essential to the success of our industry and the packaging industry as a whole. BOBST is helping to drive the industry transformation with meaningful innovation and real collaboration, which will result in solutions that fulfil the requirements of converters and brand owners alike.”