First V12 heads to All4Labels

Global labels and packaging group All4Labels has been announced as the first beta site for HP Indigo’s ground‑breaking V12 digital press. The V12 uses HP Indigo’s new LEPx imaging platform, where a continuously rotating blanket rather than an intermittent blanket cylinder builds up the color image before ‘one shot’ transfer onto the substrate. This allows the V12 press to reach speeds of 120 m/min in six colors selected from 12 in-line color stations.

All4Labels is an established pioneer of digital label printing technology with a digital center of excellence located in Hamburg. This site has already implemented an advanced digital workflow, as Massimiliano Martino, All4Labels chief technology officer, explains: ‘While we are contributing to the development of new HP Indigo presses, including the V12, we have already implemented an advanced digitalization program that includes a robust online portal where customers can directly order to press. We are connecting our HP Indigo printing lines to automated vehicles and robots to drastically enhance safety and efficiency. All our HP Indigo presses are connected to monitor their production performance live, and we are establishing a central control room in our Hamburg headquarters to monitor, navigate and manage our digital production worldwide.’

Step change

All4Labels companies have been pioneering digital printing for over 25 years, having successfully industrialized several beta press series including the HP Indigo 4000, 6000, 20000 and 8000. ‘We are determined to continue leading digital printing across the industry,’ states Martino.

The HP Indigo V12 represents a real step change in  All4Labels’ mission to digitize its production processes. ‘Our digital portfolio continues growing, becoming more and more complex, especially on medium-run lengths, thus requiring the technical capabilities of a fully industrialized and automated V12 to produce at the most sustainable level possible,’ enthuses Martino. ‘The powerful software front-end will drive unprecedented production speed, agility, efficiency, versatility and quality to sustainably increase our production throughput, so we are able to deliver complex jobs in short lead times while Jan - Mar 2023 All4Labels | 41 HP launches the V12 at Labelexpo Americas 2022 meeting our ambitious sustainability targets.’

Martino believes that the HP Indigo V12 will directly challenge conventional printing.

‘I expect flexography and the other production technologies to be heavily challenged to become more and more automated to be able to produce at the new sustainable benchmark that we will be setting at All4Labels, together with HP Indigo. The challenge has already started, and we are experiencing several flexo and analog production technologies investing into innovation and automation to compete with the new sustainable levels needed for the industry.’

All4Labels will be installing a near-line finishing unit for the V12.

‘The V12 is designed with an ergonomic open architecture which allows us to efficiently serve our pre- and post-printing needs through a variety of converting modules,’ explains Martino. ‘Therefore, thinking about the whole production eco-system we have decided to use near-line finishing, which was specifically engineered for the V12.’

Steered toward sustainability

Sustainability is a core concept for All4Labels, and Martino believes the V12 fits perfectly into that strategy: ‘Firstly, and foremost, I see digital transformation as the continuous accelerator for health and safety at the workplace – turning visible certain invisible risks, eliminating repetitive and hazardous tasks, and, for environmental protection, eliminating physical sources of CO2 emissions like printing plates. It promotes the active engagement of our employees who can now proactively and rationally steer production performance towards a much more sustainable direction.’

Martino reports that initial results show an increase in energy efficiency of between 25-40 percent compared to existing printing technologies, with comparable reductions in CO2 emissions. ‘The V12 press is manufactured to be CO2 neutral and will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy at All4Labels,’ says Martino. ‘And it will also produce our innovative and sustainable Star Portfolio. This will significantly contribute to our activities to continue decarbonizing the entire value chain.’ Martino sees the HP Indigo V12 press as a revolutionary technology for the narrow web label printing industry because of the way it changes the interaction between machine and operator.

‘I know the engineers, the scientists and operators working and operating the V12 in the (HP Indigo) lab, and I know well our engineers and operators that will operate the V12 at All4Labels. I believe that our people with their digital competencies and passion for the industry will be the real game-changers to set the new benchmark for the labeling and packaging industry.’

Dr Guenther Weymans, chief operations officer at All4Labels, agrees that the V12 will promote both digitization and sustainability, which are key strategic goals for the converter.

‘At All4Labels we are pioneers when it comes to digitalization and sustainability,’ Weymans says. ‘With these two main pillars in mind, we want to transform the packaging industry through innovation and lead the change toward a more sustainable future, while setting industry benchmarks for safety, health, and environment.

‘To achieve these goals, we constantly work side-by-side with our partners, investigating the latest cross-market trends with the aim of designing customized solutions to respond to every need.’

Guido Iannone, chief sales officer at All4Labels, says the installation of the HP Indigo V12 will greatly expand the value the converter can offer to brand managers.

‘The installation of the V12 represents an additional milestone in our path towards continuous innovation and technological development. With more than 25 years of experience in digital printing, we accompany brand owners all the way from projects’ conception to completion, combining our largest digital press capacity in the world with our long-term experience in design and artwork preparation.’

Continues Iannone, ‘Thanks to our packaging design unit, All4Graphics, we can integrate digital thinking, creativity, innovation, design and prepress processes with the most modern workflows, to develop versatile and customized projects with variable data management. A brilliant example is our campaign “The Human Blend”, which combines graphic elements in unique ways to create always different digitally printed sleeves. What we offer to our customers is a brand innovation model that leads to the evolution of products in terms of an unlimited combination of design, uniqueness, the possibility of interactions and sustainability. We act as business partners to our customers, and we develop together tailor-made solutions to offer to end consumers memorable experiences.’

Dr Weymans concludes by pointing out the importance of All4Labels’ global footprint when working with brand owners on these kinds of new initiatives. ‘Thanks to our worldwide presence we are a reliable partner for both international companies and regional champions, who choose us as their business ally to connect their brands with the end-users. In the future, we will continue establishing new partnerships to expand our network of family businesses all around the world, keeping on investing in this successful combination of entrepreneurial heritage and global spirit.’

To learn more about All4Labels, visit all4labels.com