Converters and brand owners who attended the BOBST Labels & Packaging Innovation event in Florence (April 1–4) were the first to see the new solutions in action. 

 

The event addressed 3 key industry needs: Improving time-to-market, guaranteeing color consistency and monitoring food packaging safety. 
 
BOBST showcased two solutions:

• The new Ink-on-Demand (IoD) system eliminates ink trays and chambered doctor blades. It only requires 30 grams of ink in the print unit to operate. Full wash-out and ink change are performed in minutes with only a few grams of ink and washing liquid wasted;

• The new DigiColor system performs "on-the-fly" job changes of color Delta E. Each of the seven Extended Color Gamut (ECG) inks is split into a darker and a lighter ink, which are mixed in-line to match the targeted Delta E. Closed-Loop color control of DigiColor achieves "digital" color-matching, color consistency at any speed, on any substrate, with any operator worldwide. Converters and brand-owners will now be able to rely on a new "digital" technology to protect their brand identities. Converters will benefit from major time savings and quality improvement benefits.

BOBST also premiered a solution that enables the full traceability of every piece of packaging. 

 

In collaboration with ESKO, AVT, Pantone and X-Rite, the new solution allows the “digital” traceability from the original file to the press, to the job validation and final storage of digital data generated from the final printed job. It is built on the BOBST Digital Flexo technology and combines WebCenter, ColorCert, SpectraLab and PantoneLive assets. 
 
The traceability project is based in the REVO Academy in BOBST Firenze. The REVO Academy is open to converters worldwide to test and get training on turnkey ECG solutions, delivered by the 12 REVO Members and Partners.
 
Meanwhile, Mouvent, the digital printing competence center of the Bobst Group, showcased the recently announced LB702-UV digital press. There were live demos of the machine at 100 m/min with 6 colors and 1200 dpi resolution on multiple jobs and various substrates. 
 
Finally, BOBST is providing brand owners and converters with new opportunities to increase the safety of food packaging. In collaboration with Flint, GEW and the UVFoodSafe Alliance, BOBST announced the digital control of UV energy. This allows for the unique safety traceability of each printed meter of substrate, opening new opportunities for UV printed food packaging production with new food safety certifications. Compared to solvent and water-based inks, UV inks achieve higher print quality and color consistency combined with the absence of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), improving ink stability and sustainability.
 
"The label and packaging industry is clearly going digital, in terms of processes, value creation, and new business models,” said Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of BOBST “The collaboration between partners is essential to the success of our industry and the packaging industry as a whole. BOBST is helping to drive the industry transformation with meaningful innovation and real collaboration, which will result in solutions that fulfill the requirements of converters and brand owners alike.”