Italian Label Producer Installs the Gallus Five 

Gallus Group, a subsidiary of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, announced that Italian label specialist Artes Etichette has acquired the first high-performance hybrid press, the Gallus Five, worldwide. 

Installed in December 2025, the new system enables Artes to migrate a significant portion of its conventional workload over to digital, saving setup time and materials and simplifying production. 

The investment reflects broader continued growth across the Italian label market, which is forecasted to expand over the coming decade, driven by evolving packaging requirements and increasing product variation.

Developed together with HEIDELBERG, the Gallus Five was designed to bring hybrid production into mainstream production at scale, addressing volume-driven markets where consistent, industrial-level speed and efficiency are critical. 

The press incorporates the newly developed HEIDELBERG Saphira UV05 ink set – a major advancement in ink technology – with a high-pigmentation formulation that cuts ink consumption and lowers total cost of ownership. 

Within months of installation, Artes is leveraging the industrial capacity of the Gallus Five to handle a growing share of its production, particularly for food label applications, while also supporting work across chemicals and detergents, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and durable goods. 

Routine jobs sit at 10,000 linear meters, with regular successful runs up to 60,000 linear meters, repeatedly proving the press’s capability to achieve industrial-level productivity. 

Furthermore, its modular, flexible design under Gallus’ System to Compose platform concept also equips Artes to be able to scale and adapt production as application requirements evolve, supporting greater flexibility and long-term investment security, without disrupting existing operations.

The Gallus Five is increasingly becoming Artes’ preferred platform, addressing the pressing need to deliver greater speed, flexibility, and consistent quality as customer demands continue to evolve. 

The new installation builds on nearly five decades of experience Artes has with Gallus machinery, dating back to traditional flexographic and typographic systems from the 1970s. 

In recent years, the company’s digital journey was accelerated with the installation of two Gallus Labelfire presses in 2018 and 2022, followed by Europe’s first Gallus One in 2024. 

According to Artes, the installation process was smooth and efficient, supported by its prior experience with Gallus digital technology, close collaboration with Gallus technicians, and broader HEIDELBERG customer support network. 

The Artes Etichette owners (left to right: Claudio Bernasconi, Luca Airoldi and Paolo Belloni) with the world’s first Gallus Five installation, supporting the company’s expansion into industrial-scale digital label production.