David Savastano, Editor06.23.16
At drupa 2012, Benny Landa, the inventor of the Indigo digital printing platform and perhaps the most notable proponent of digital printing, showcased the fledgling Landa Nanography Presses. The presses, which were pretty much prototypes, stole the show in 2012, partially because of Landa’s flair for showmanship - his huge stand in Hall 9 featured some of the new presses, as well as a stage show led by Landa himself.
At drupa 2016, Landa’s vision quickly came into focus. Landa Digital Printing, of which Landa is chairman, showed its Landa S10 folding carton press, Landa S10P commercial press and Landa W10 flexible packaging Nanographic Printing® Presses as well as Landa Nano-Metallography, its new metallization printing technology that offers zero waste. In addition, Komori showed its new Impremia IS29 inkjet press, which is based on Landa’s technology and uses Landa’s NanoInk, during drupa.
In addition, the company announced beta test sites in Europe (colordruck Baiersbronn and Elanders) and the US (Imagine!), large deals with Quad/Graphics and Cimpress, among others, and a total of €450 million in orders.
, the company’s CEO, offered their insights into the progress being made by Landa Nano as well as digital printing in general.
Landa spoke about the need to deliver high quality form the start, a lesson he learned from the initial launch of Indigo, when he shipped products after just one year. The early Indigo presses encountered numerous problems that Landa said set Indigo back five years.
“The important thing is delivering quality products,” Landa noted. “We shipped too fast with our Indigo presses. This time we have taken five years to get the bugs out of our nanographic presses.”
Amir reported that products would be reaching customers in 2017.
“Digital printing is happening. We are signing many orders, which makes us happy,” said Amir. “Our products will be ready in early 2017.”
Amir said that the Asia-Pacific market is particularly promising for Landa Nano. “Asia-Pacific is a big opportunity for us, as it is a hub for packaging,” he added.
NanoInk
One of the keys to the Nanographic Printing Presses is Landa’s water-based Landa NanoInk colorants. Landa NanoInk utilizes what the company calls ultra-small pigment particles tens of nanometers in size, and it is the same ink for paper or plastic substrates. The company provides the inks for free, making its money though a pay-for-use approach.
“We are building our pigment factory in Israel, which will also be used in other industries, including automotive,” Landa said. “We give the inks for free through our pay-for-use program. We are shipping concentrates that will be diluted by the customer’s tap water, and the pages are completely deinkable. We have a very strong patent base for our inks and machines.”
Landa offers a seven-color palette (CMYK + OBG), which he said covers virtually all Pantone colors.
“When we use our seven-color configuration, we can produce 96% of the Pantone range,” he observed. “It means the end of special colors. It’s a huge thing for brand owners.”
Landa said he is surprised that digital printing didn’t grow as fast as he initially expected, but how the market has switched.
“I thought by 2010 most printing would be digital, but it was 2% of the market,” he noted. “I am surprised the industry has taken so long. However, here at drupa, we are extremely delighted. We are drowning in interest.
“This is real. This is now. This is robust,” he added. “We are talking about staggering amounts. I’m used to being the guy who has to do the convincing, and now customers are coming to us saying they need this to be successful.”
At drupa 2016, Landa’s vision quickly came into focus. Landa Digital Printing, of which Landa is chairman, showed its Landa S10 folding carton press, Landa S10P commercial press and Landa W10 flexible packaging Nanographic Printing® Presses as well as Landa Nano-Metallography, its new metallization printing technology that offers zero waste. In addition, Komori showed its new Impremia IS29 inkjet press, which is based on Landa’s technology and uses Landa’s NanoInk, during drupa.
In addition, the company announced beta test sites in Europe (colordruck Baiersbronn and Elanders) and the US (Imagine!), large deals with Quad/Graphics and Cimpress, among others, and a total of €450 million in orders.
, the company’s CEO, offered their insights into the progress being made by Landa Nano as well as digital printing in general.
Landa spoke about the need to deliver high quality form the start, a lesson he learned from the initial launch of Indigo, when he shipped products after just one year. The early Indigo presses encountered numerous problems that Landa said set Indigo back five years.
“The important thing is delivering quality products,” Landa noted. “We shipped too fast with our Indigo presses. This time we have taken five years to get the bugs out of our nanographic presses.”
Amir reported that products would be reaching customers in 2017.
“Digital printing is happening. We are signing many orders, which makes us happy,” said Amir. “Our products will be ready in early 2017.”
Amir said that the Asia-Pacific market is particularly promising for Landa Nano. “Asia-Pacific is a big opportunity for us, as it is a hub for packaging,” he added.
NanoInk
One of the keys to the Nanographic Printing Presses is Landa’s water-based Landa NanoInk colorants. Landa NanoInk utilizes what the company calls ultra-small pigment particles tens of nanometers in size, and it is the same ink for paper or plastic substrates. The company provides the inks for free, making its money though a pay-for-use approach.
“We are building our pigment factory in Israel, which will also be used in other industries, including automotive,” Landa said. “We give the inks for free through our pay-for-use program. We are shipping concentrates that will be diluted by the customer’s tap water, and the pages are completely deinkable. We have a very strong patent base for our inks and machines.”
Landa offers a seven-color palette (CMYK + OBG), which he said covers virtually all Pantone colors.
“When we use our seven-color configuration, we can produce 96% of the Pantone range,” he observed. “It means the end of special colors. It’s a huge thing for brand owners.”
Landa said he is surprised that digital printing didn’t grow as fast as he initially expected, but how the market has switched.
“I thought by 2010 most printing would be digital, but it was 2% of the market,” he noted. “I am surprised the industry has taken so long. However, here at drupa, we are extremely delighted. We are drowning in interest.
“This is real. This is now. This is robust,” he added. “We are talking about staggering amounts. I’m used to being the guy who has to do the convincing, and now customers are coming to us saying they need this to be successful.”