Fujifilm to launch UV LED inkjet press for Japan's flexible packaging market

Fujifilm is to debut a new UV LED inkjet press for flexible package printing at drupa 2016, which will meet the demand for cost reductions in the production of short runs in this market.

Fujifilm is to debut a new UV LED inkjet press for flexible package printing at drupa 2016, which will meet the demand for cost reductions in the production of short runs in this market.

Targeted at the Japanese market, the as-yet unnamed 54cm (21in) wide press can print CMYK+W at 50m/min. It features Fujifilm's Samba inkjet printheads. It also uses the company’s new proprietary image forming technology, EUCON (enhanced undercoating and nitrogen purging). This is based on a newly developed UV ink, undercoating technology and nitrogen purging.

The ink used in the new press is said to offer ‘stunning and stable’ color reproduction and consistency, and takes advantage of Fujifilm’s high performance UV ink technologies developed for wide format applications. Fujifilm’s new UV ink is also said to exhibit good adhesive strength to film substrates, preventing peeling or cracking of the ink even when the print surface is heated. This means a high quality finish can be obtained for food packaging applications, and, as a result, the new Fujifilm system fully supports heat sealing and high temperature sterilization during pouch production or conversion. UV LED curing and drying minimizes the amount of heat applied to the substrate, reducing power consumption and opening up the use of a wide range of heat-sensitive flexible substrates. 

EUCON applies a newly developed and dedicated primer designed to generate superior image quality, even on non-absorbing surfaces. Applying this primer as an undercoat before depositing the CMYK+W ink significantly reduces ink bleed and enables vibrant color reproduction, according to Fujifilm. The nitrogen purge element instantly covers the surface of the substrate with nitrogen gas as it is being transported at high speed. This decreases the odor by completely isolating the substrate from oxygen, virtually eliminating the residual monomers.

During its pre-drupa press conference today (March 1), Fujifilm said there is a growing appetite for the use of inkjet technology to drive cost reduction in the production of short runs of flexible packaging.

Moreover, the company stated, a major challenge for the flexible packaging market in recent years has been to effectively respond to increased customer demand for shorter runs, quicker turnarounds and a more diverse range of products. This trend will continue to rise, Fujifilm has predicted, due to the ever-changing marketing methods and the shortening of product lifecycles. This has seen traditional analog print processes face growing challenges in terms of meeting these requirements from both a production and a profitability perspective, it added. 'Fujifilm's new UV LED inkjet press is set to offer a real and robust production solution to help address these challenges and meet the needs of a changing market,' the company said in a statement announcing the new digital flexible package printing press.

‘This new, next-generation UV LED inkjet flexible packaging press is set to offer printers a high performance, high quality, low odor production solution to meet the needs of a growing number of high quality, shorter run applications. And being highly versatile, it can also deliver personalization and variable data printing, while also being suitable for seamless printing, making it ideally suited for high mix, short production runs, to fully support the shortest lead times.’

The new press will be running live at drupa 2016, printing flexible packaging. Fujifilm said it will continue to develop new UV LED inkjet technologies suitable for the EMEA and American markets.

The Fujifilm Jet Press 720S will also be highlighted at drupa 2016, including a new UV in-line coater. The Jet Press 720S was recently upgraded to handle thicker substrates for folding carton applications, with a number of machines now in use worldwide. P4P in Belgium has installed Europe’s first Jet Press 720S for folding carton application. Flenex plates will also be shown in the packaging area of the Fujifilm stand.

Read a comprehensive preview of label and package printing technology to see at drupa 2016 in L&L issue 2, 2016

Read more about digital flexible package printing in L&L issue 3, 2016

David Pittman

David Pittman

  • Former deputy editor