Successful Labelexpo Europe 2009 in Brussels

Labelexpo in Brussels was a resounding success. Visitors to our stand were thoroughly impressed by our range of new products and services on show. The market launch of the granite-based Gallus ECS 340 heralds a new era in productivity in manufacturing commodity labels.

We showcased our products, services and Screeny solutions in Hall 5 on a stand covering over 900 m2 of floorspace. This was extremely popular with visitors throughout the trade fair – a fact that was equally true of our traditional Gallus Happy Hours in the evening. We are pleased to give you an overview of some of the highlights of this year’s fair.

Successful market launch of the new Gallus ECS 340 at Labelexpo Europe 2009

With an unexpectedly high number of orders concluded at Labelexpo itself, Gallus enjoyed resounding success in launching the Gallus ECS 340 onto the market. The countless visitors to the stand were impressed by the highly innovative concept employed by the press. With the Gallus ECS 340, the Gallus Group is ushering in a new era for the cost-effective manufacture of commodity product decorations.

The use of granite offers various benefits. For example, granite boasts outstanding stability and facilitates new design concepts. The Gallus ECS 340 printing unit is suspended on the granite structure, allowing not only easy access to the unit but first and foremost extremely short web travel of just 1.1 metres between two units. As a natural product, granite has a very positive effect on the product's CO2 balance. Apart from the actual mining of the granite, no work is involved that generates CO2 emissions. Granite can also be recycled easily and in a variety of ways.

Never has printing been so straightforward, efficient and user-friendly, never have costs per label been so low – and all for an investment that won’t break the bank. Read more about our new Gallus ECS 340 in the separate report "Gallus ECS 340: the first granite press" which also appears in this edition of Gallus InTouch.

Cutting costs through process efficiency – the Gallus RCS 330/430

Investing in the latest presses can significantly boost efficiency and thus lower production costs. The efficiency of existing production resources can also be improved. At Labelexpo Europe, we demonstrated the enhanced process efficiency possible on the Gallus RCS 330/430. This press combines a limitless range of applications with a high level of automation to deliver maximum productivity. The ability to combine printing and finishing processes inline almost at will makes the Gallus RCS 330/430 a real all-rounder.

Job presetting – including ink zone presetting of offset printing units with a link to prepress – is an integral part of the Gallus RCS 330/430. Unveiled at Labelexpo, the Gallus RCS 330/430 is equipped with an exclusive measuring system based on colour spectrometry. This enables closed-loop colour management on the fly, thereby opening up significant potential for cutting waste.

A further key aspect of the press’s process efficiency is the networking of production resources. This facilitates very rapid and, above all, error-free exchange of production data – on the one hand for job preparation and on the other for finishing and actual costing. The data workflow solution developed by Gallus, which was demonstrated live on the Gallus RCS, is the first of its kind in the label industry and links the press directly to the production planning and finishing sections. In addition, the system provides a clear overview of the current production status. This allows virtually the entire job to be processed digitally, saving time and reducing workloads.

The Gallus digital screen printing solution

With the launch of its digital screen printing plate – the Gallus Digital Screeny – the Gallus Group is responding to more widespread use of CtP systems. Using a standard exposure system for flexographic plates (e.g. Esko CDI) and without film, the digital Screeny screen printing plate can be integrated into the existing workflow without additional investment. We demonstrated the digital production of a screen printing plate live at our stand.

Gallus also demonstrated the digital exposure of conventional screen printing plates using the Lüscher Flex Pose UV. This concept enables Gallus to offer customised solutions for integrating rotary screen printing in the digital flexographic or offset workflow, thereby avoiding high investments and substantial conversion costs.

The complete Gallus product and service range

The Gallus Group’s portfolio includes a wide range of products and services with maximum flexibility in terms of printing and processing methods, modular designs, open architecture and the use of cutting-edge technologies. This results in label presses that are suitable for the widest possible range of applications while also ensuring top quality and maximum productivity. Our visitors were able to get all the information they needed on the entire portfolio at the Gallus stand.

This applies not least to the Gallus EM 280 which, with over 600 presses sold, doesn't just set benchmarks in terms of safety and reliability but also in combination printing for all label printers who need a high level of flexibility for both printing and finishing. The range of applications extends from label printing and ticket production to monofoil solutions and multiweb applications. Despite its small footprint, the Gallus EM 280 supports UV- or water-based flexographic printing, screen printing, hot and cold foil printing, relief embossing, rotary and flat-bed diecutting – all in combination and inline. The choice between servo-driven modules and conventional drives enables label printers to match the press precisely to specific customer requirements.

Visitors were also able to find out about the Gallus EM 340/410/510 S with its hybrid printing units for flexographic / screen printing and sleeve technology for printing cylinders and anilox rollers. Since its official market launch at Labelexpo Europe 2003, the Gallus EM S system has firmly established the lightweight sleeve system in the narrow-web segment. The combination of front loading and simple handling of the printing cylinders and anilox rollers makes for fast makeready times and continues to set standards in the industry. The chambered doctor blade system ensures fast ink changes, further minimising the time required to set up and clean the machine.

It is not only the machine’s multi-substrate capability that makes the Gallus EM S series stand out from the competition, but also the very wide range of customer-specific solutions on offer. The Gallus EM S system provides dedicated solutions for any application – be it self-adhesive or monofoil labels, paper or thin cardboard. The system, which starts from a basic configuration for commercial label printing and can be expanded with specialised customer applications, has the flexibility needed to meet all the basic requirements with the option of integrating special modules as required. The Gallus EM S system is used in countless applications throughout the world – from logistics labels, lottery tickets and food labels, to beverage sleeve wrappings, security applications and pharmaceutical solutions.

At this year’s Labelexpo, Gallus once again presented its Product Bar – a forum for discussing and exchanging information on printing technologies, printing processes and substrates. The Product Bar was staffed by Gallus experts with extensive experience of label printers, partners and suppliers in the label industry.

This impressive event demonstrated how best to achieve added value in product decoration. Gallus’s workflow advisory service was also showcased at the trade fair. This service offers label printers the option of incorporating presses into a streamlined production environment, thus enabling them to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) even further.

We provide label printers with training, comprehensive service packages and on-site support – from the planning stage until long after a machine has been purchased. Our global sales and service network means that you can benefit from all we have to offer wherever you are located.

The range of print widths offered by Gallus – from 280 mm to 510 mm – makes for customised solutions that meet the requirements of label printers. Tailor-made, flexible Gallus machine systems and equipment for the packaging industry also set standards in quality, productivity and reliability. Gallus Stanz- und Druckmaschinen GmbH (formerly BHS Druck- und Veredelungstechnik GmbH) leads the way in inline press systems, diecutters and customised machines thanks to its cutting-edge technology and intelligent software solutions for machine control. Our customers were also able to get more information on these solutions at our stand. Gallus’s product portfolio is ideal for all applications – including self-adhesive labels, foils, cardboard, paper, aluminium foil and foil composites.

Thank you for visiting us at the Gallus stand at Labelexpo 2009!