ACTEGA Confirms High Speeds Now Achievable with ECOLEAF

ACTEGA announced the latest news for the company at Labelexpo Europe 2023 (Brussels, Belgium, Sept. 11-14). The news shared included significant developments for its innovative, sustainable, on-demand metallization technology, ECOLEAF.

The company confirmed that ECOLEAF now runs at 70m/min on digital inkjet lines and 80m/min on flexo lines. Medium to high run jobs across all types of existing production lines can now easily integrate ECOLEAF and benefit from improved sustainability whilst delivering the high gloss and quality usually achieved with traditional foil processes.

In addition, ACTEGA’s vision to bring ECOLEAF on-demand metallization to as much of the industry as possible has taken a significant step forward. The technology is now being embraced by leaders across the industry, with brands in this sector excited by the finished products and the promise of considerable advances in sustainability.

With more innovative companies adopting on-demand metallization, the ECOLEAF metallization application range now includes laminated tubes, shrink sleeves, and pressure sensitive labels.

Matt Dass, MD of Springfield Solutions, part of All4Labels and ECOLEAF’s first digital partner, noted the importance of the latest milestones met by the ECOLEAF team.

“We installed our ECOLEAF unit in 2022 to add to our existing digital embellishment service,” Dass said. “The ECOLEAF team has been extremely supportive and made adding on-demand metallization to our capabilities so easy. We’re now giving our customers the quality and price comparisons of ECOLEAF decorated labels and ones decorated using traditional foiling processes. When faced with these samples combined with the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint and waste considerably, the decision to choose ECOLEAF is abundantly clear.”

“It is widely known that traditional foil processes used to upscale labels and packaging products are expensive, complex to integrate into the production process and extremely wasteful,” Harald Jasper, managing director of ACTEGA Metal Print, observed. “Our goal for ECOLEAF is to enable sustainable, on-demand metallization of labels and packaging – applying high quality, plastic-free metallic decoration only when and where you want it.”

An ECOLEAF unit was being demonstrated live on the ACTEGA stand and on partner, AB Graphic International’s stand at Labelexpo this week. This is the first time the solution is being exhibited on a fully digital line and the first time customers and prospects will see the technology in action at a European tradeshow.

Also on display at the ACTEGA booth are the company’s latest innovations in high impact coatings and inks for labels and flexible packaging. Samples showcasing ACTEGA’s haptic effect coating series, LED-UV coatings, and White and Metallic Inks are sure to capture visitors’ attention and impress converters with their advanced functionalities.

“With such an extensive range of coatings and inks developed with product differentiation and improved functionality at the forefront, as well as pioneering technology like ECOLEAF, ACTEGA is enabling our customers to remain profitable and competitive,” Benjamin Lux, CTO of ACTEGA, said.