Labelexpo Europe 2019 Set for Largest Show to Date

The 40th Labelexpo Europe will take place Sept. 24-27 in Brussels, Belgium with more than 600 exhibitors taking part in the biggest label and package printing event in the world.
                     
More than 200 of the exhibitors are new this year and will be displaying their latest products to an international buyer audience of printers, suppliers, brand owners and designers.

This includes Canon, whose Océ LabelStream 4000 series UV inkjet press is making its show debut, and Memjet, who is unveiling its third-generation printing technology, which features new print widths and a long-life 4-color printhead. Other newcomers include GMG, Lambda Technology, Shanghai Spande Intelligent Equipment Co. Ltd, and Siltech Ltd.

Labelexpo Europe 2019 is also set to present the largest offering of technologies and live demonstrations seen to date, with an increasing number of product launches for the fast-growing areas of hybrid printing, flexible packaging and automation. This includes Bobst, who is unveiling a new hybrid flexo press; and MPS, who is launching a new 17”/430mm edition of the hybrid EF Symjet press.

This is presented for the first time with an exclusive Domino digital N617i inkjet printer, in a wider 17”/430mm width. Mark Andy is unveiling a new entry- to mid-level digital hybrid press, which will be demonstrated live at the show with advanced inline converting.

Flexible packaging machinery launches come from exhibitors including Omet, with its new X7. This is a flexo printing machine for labels and flexible packaging with 670mm (26”) web width and the latest in their XFlex line. Lombardi is unveiling its Invicta i2 line, designed for flexible packaging in the mid web sector.

Other press launches include Gallus, who is unveiling its Digital Printbar digital embellishing unit designed specifically for opaque white and using inkjet-based digital print technology. Konica Minolta is premiering its recently launched AccurioLabel 230, a new version of its digital toner press, while Nilpeter is launching its 17” wide FA-Line press featuring cold foil, lamination and their new high-speed semi-rotary die-cutting unit. Grafotronic is showcasing seven new models out of a total of 11 machines presented at the show, of which four are new fully modular digital finishing machines. Dantex, meanwhile, is highlighting two versions of its PicoJet inkjet press. These digital UV inkjet presses have printing capabilities of 350mm width and 75m/m (250 fpm), with 600 DPI at 2.5pl dot size.

“Exhibitor participation this year has been truly incredible, not only in the number of returning companies, but also the newcomers joining us for the first time,” said Lisa Milburn, managing director of Labelexpo Global Series. “It is astonishing to think that at the first show there were just 44 exhibitors – proof of how far the industry has grown in the last four decades.”

Show visitors will also have an exclusive opportunity to see two press lines in action at the show’s main feature, the Flexible Packaging Arena.

A Xeikon CX500 (digital) and a Bobst M6 (UV Flexo) will be producing indirect food contact flexible packaging to the latest GMP standards, and live demonstrations will be taking place throughout the four days of the show. Also, HP Indigo will be offering live demonstrations of digital pouch making showcasing the HP Indigo 20000 digital press, Pack Ready Lamination, and the Karlville pouch-making machine making its show debut on its stand. Other HP innovations at the show include HP Indigo 8000 digital press, which will run inline with the ABG Fast Track die, and the best-selling HP Indigo 6900 digital press, which can be seen in action showcasing an integrated Kurz DM-Jetliner finishing module.

Materials, inks and finishing manufacturers will be especially well represented, with product launches from companies including Pulse Roll Label Products, who are unveiling the next evolution of UV flexo printing inks; S-OneLP, which is launching its Sustainable ByDesign portfolio of solutions for recyclable and compostable flexible packaging; AstroNova TrojanLabel will premier two new products, the T2-L narrow-format water-based inkjet press with added laminating capabilities, and the T3-OPX next-generation overprinting solution which can print directly onto a wide range of surfaces.