Amcor is already putting the VariJet 106 at the center of a new production model at its Polish site. At the Executive Summit organized by Koenig & Bauer and Durst in Radebeul, Germany, the 75,000-employee packaging giant presented the organization set up around this digital inkjet press.
The Swiss group's production line combines flexographic printing units before and after the digital unit. Amcor uses this configuration to handle more varied production runs and shorter lead times. It also makes it possible to integrate health warnings and safety features on certain packaging.
Developed by Durst and Koenig & Bauer, the VariJet 106 uses water-based inkjet inks in CMYK, complemented by orange, green and violet. The press also features double coating.
Schelling also shared his experience of this Koenig and Bauer digital press. The Swiss producer of packaging, displays and printing products, which has five sites in Switzerland and Germany, uses a seven-color configuration with double coating.
Pierre Hertzel, Sales Manager for Germany, explained that this line was increasingly meeting the needs of high-end applications for folding cartons, thanks to its consistent quality, wide Pantone coverage and flexibility.
A key point: complementary printing technologies
For Markus Weiss, Managing Director of Koenig & Bauer Paper & Packaging Sheetfed Systems, the challenge is to combine industrial approaches: "The future of printing isn't about choosing between offset and digital. It's about mastering both to meet evolving market demands."
Guest speaker François Martin also emphasized the complementary nature of these technologies: "The ability to handle volumes, agility, value: adopting digital means processors can no longer turn down complex, urgent jobs, and reinforces analog production rather than replacing it."
Digital printing technology at the heart of a more global system
The event also demonstrated the integration of the VariJet 106 into a complete chain, from prepress to finishing. Demonstrations combined the inkjet press with the CutPro X 106 rotary diecutter, the CutPro Q 106 flatbed diecutter and the Omega Allpro 110 folder-gluer.
Koenig & Bauer Durst also presented functions for ink consumption monitoring, predictive maintenance and connected packaging with QR codes.
Daniel Velema, Managing Director of Koenig & Bauer Durst, reminded us that the use of digital technology goes beyond the purchase of a press: "Companies that succeed in their digital transformation invest not only in press, but also in software integration, workflow automation and agile change management."
