Toner-based cartons
Enabling short-run printing, sample
runs and personalization, the Xerox
Automated Packaging System (APS)
can also apply variable data to
pharmaceutical products for improved
anti-counterfeiting and security.
Xerox is seeking FDA approval to
accommodate food packaging.
iGen4 engine
While APS can also employ an iGen3,
the recently released iGen4 engine runs
at 110 pages per minute on the largest
imaging area for a toner-based press on
the market, at 14. 33 x 22. 5 inches. The
press can also handle up to 18-point
packaging board.
Epic CTi-635
This varnishing unit is engineered to
work with Xerox’s iGen line and can
apply either aqueous or UV coating
(flood or spot). It uses Coat Tech
Anilox coating technology, which
Epic describes as being similar to the
systems used inline on offset presses.
Like the die-cutter, the Epic machine
handles weights of up to 350 gsm.
Stora Enso Gallop
A completely new stacker-conveyer
unit, sold under the Stora Enso brand,
was developed to handle the flow
of material from the Epic unit to the
Gallop die cutter, which was built
for Stora Enso by KAMA. The Gallop
handles a sheet size of up to 580 x
400 mm ( 22. 8 x 15. 8 inches).
The die-cutter operates at around
40 pages per minute.
Folding
Cartons
by Xerox
From the toner-based press arena, at PRINT 09 held in Chicago mid-September, manufactur- ers of such equipment appeared to stress three
primary trends. First, there is now a plethora of
UV-coating machines with well over a dozen dotting the show floor. Second, with the commercial
printing segment already saturated with toner-based presses, major manufacturers are positioning their machines into the relatively
untouched label and packaging segment that has
been much slower to move away from offset and
flexographic processes. Pira International predicts the “worldwide digital printing market for
packaging and labels” is expected to reach
US$6.75 billion by 2014.
The third major trend to emerge from the
PRINT 09 show floor, with respect to toner-based
presses, is the amount of progress that has been
made to realize workable inline, lights-out production. Amongst its competitors, Xerox at PRINT
09 made a clear effort to illustrate how its toner-based engines interface with third-party finishing
systems and template-based front-end software.
Xerox had its Nuvera and iGen engines on several partnering booths like C.P. Bourg, Duplo and
Fujifilm. It was on Xerox’s own booth, however,
where the three major toner-press trends – UV
coating, lights-out production, and toner-printed
packaging – were best exemplified, with its unique
Automated Packaging Solution, unveiled to the
North American market at PRINT 09. Automated
Packaging Solution consists of four main components: iGen4 printing engine, Epic CTi-635 varnishing unit, Stora Enso stacker-conveyer, and the
Stora Enso Gallop die cutter.
– Jon Robinson
