Baldwin at Print4All Hall 9 Stand G15,H16

High-performance curing and corona solutions enable printers to confidently achieve consistent, flawless quality at maximum speeds

105
Baldwin
Baldwin's corona slim treatment system ensures the exact dyne levels needed for perfect uniformity in application. Photo Baldwin

Baldwin Technology will showcase its latest high-performance color management, surface treatment, LED-UV curing, inspection, defect detection and Industry 4.0-based analytics solutions at Print4All in pavilion 9, stand G15 H16, which is taking place May 3-6 at Fiera Milano in Italy.

Printers are under unprecedented commercial pressures because of paper shortages and energy costs. Technologies that help printers and converters minimize paper, ink, time and energy waste have never been more in demand. Simultaneously, the need for flawless, sustainable printed products drives the industry to technologies that support outstanding results. Plus, the burgeoning demand for flexible packaging and labels has put pressure on printers and converters to produce them at the highest quality and the fastest possible speeds.

Customers seeking solutions are gravitating to Baldwin and its LED-UV curing technology. One of its latest advances—which will be on display at Print4All—is the XP Quatro Series LED-UV curing module with one head and two frequencies for broader applications. It is designed to economically and efficiently cure LED-formulated printing inks and coatings on sheetfed and web offset printing presses, as well as on larger-format flexo presses and digital print engines. The XP quatro series LED-UV enhances print quality while operating at top speeds, driving increased productivity and profitability.

PrintPack Show Daily

Italy’s ACM flexible packaging selected Baldwin as its LED-UV partner and became the first flexible film converter to offer all LED-UV curing in a narrow to mid-web format. This partnership established LED-UV printing as a growing production standard in flexible packaging and labels. Today, ACM is a 100% LED-UV, non-mercury facility.

Baldwin
Baldwin’s Guardian PQV100% print inspection provides complete print quality verification.

“Together with Baldwin’s technology, we proved that LED-UV could dramatically improve the printing process and make narrow web food-grade cured packaging a reality,” said Antonio La Franceschina, co-founder of ACM. “With LED-UV, we can ensure rapid and uniform drying, so we are able to reduce production cycle timing and more quickly satisfy all customer requests.”

Baldwin’s Print4All booth also will showcase Industry 4.0 and industrial Internet of Things-enabled technologies that work together to achieve greater uptime, productivity and automation. Featured solutions pair sensor-gathered data with operational data from Baldwin equipment to gain live, actionable insights to improve production monitoring, so printers and converters can achieve new levels of color consistency with fewer defects and greater assurance of curing. On May 3 at 3 pm at Arena Jobs-pavilion 9, show attendees can learn more about the advantages of Industry 4.0 during “Sell more, more profitably with IIoT,” a presentation hosted by Simon Blake, chief marketing officer at Baldwin.

“Data will drive the next great advantage of the graphics industry,” said Steve Metcalf, chief IoT officer at Baldwin. “Shorter print runs and more customization are just two challenges facing the industry and testing efficiency. Comprehensive, connected data—from inspection to color to curing—will give everyone the information needed to make decisions to sell more print, profitably.”

Other highlights in Baldwin’s stand include the Corona Slim treatment system, which ensures the exact dyne levels needed for perfect uniformity in the application, and the Guardian PQV 100% Print Inspection, which provides complete print quality verification from prepress through production, reporting and archiving.

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

Subscribe Now

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here