SCREEN Japan and Chiyoda Gravure Printing have reached an agreement that will see them work together to drive the use of digital printing for flexible packaging materials. The initiative will use SCREEN’s Truepress PAC 830F, a new water-based digital inkjet system that is capable of full-scale production of small to medium lot jobs, first announced in development in 2020.
Countries worldwide have increasingly moved to create a sustainable society and the packaging industry has also seen a growing need for more environmentally conscious production methods and greater responsibility in its supply chain. At the same time, maturing consumer preferences have also created a trend toward diversified small lot production using flexible packaging.
While gravure and some flexo printing have been the standard across the industry until recently, this method is best suited to large print runs. When it is used for small to medium lot work, a number of problems arise, including low productivity, significant strain on operators and considerable losses due to the discarding of unused products. Naturally, these issues have led affected companies to search for potential solutions.
Against this backdrop, Chiyoda and SCREEN GA have recently worked together to install the Truepress PAC 830F at Chiyoda’s facility. SCREEN has specifically developed this water-based digital inkjet press to enable full-scale mass production of small to medium lot jobs. Both companies have agreed to jointly drive the increased use of digital printing for flexible packaging, with the shared aims of expanding target applications for the Truepress PAC 830F as a production system, constructing an improved digital workflow, and identifying and resolving various issues that occur in small to medium lot production processes.
The two companies intend to pursue this initiative based on Chiyoda’s corporate philosophy of ‘Trust, continuous growth and human resource development’ as well as the SCREEN Group’s corporate purpose of ‘Innovation for a Sustainable World’. In addition to making a social contribution, they hope to upgrade the working environment at production sites for flexible packaging and deliver print quality that will make the world an ever more colourful place. The two companies will cooperate closely in order to achieve the necessary technological innovations.
It is expected that a PAC 830F will be installed in the new IIC in The Netherlands and may be exhibited at drupa 2024, late May-June in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Caption:
Typical flexible packaging work printed inkjet on the PAC 830F
Sales in Australia will be through SCREEN’s label press partner Jet Technologies
