Hybrid printing systems – future or current state I

Hybrid printing systems – future or current state I

07.03.2016

According to consulting firm IT-Strategies (www.it-strategies.com/), digital printing is the fastest growing technology in the self-adhesive label printer segment.

With less than 3% of total print volume in 2013, the market for digitally printed labels is still a niche market. However, this market is growing rapidly (approx. 15-20% per year) and already offers extremely attractive margins with a total production value of approx. 9%. IT-Strategies assumes that digital printing will primarily be a useful addition to flexographic printing in the future and that, in the medium term, approximately 10% of all current flexographic printing orders will be produced digitally. If a label printer wants to offer its customers the complete range of applications throughout the entire product life cycle of the respective label, it will therefore also have to consider offering digital solutions for small print runs and the processing of industrially variable data (barcodes, QR codes, serial numbers, etc.).

With less than 15% of all label printers worldwide equipped with a digital printing system, many companies are still wondering which digital printing system to invest in. This is all the more true given that the market in this area is very confusing—at LabelExpo 2013, around 30 manufacturers presented over 55 new printing systems.

Since readers are likely to be familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of the various conventional printing and finishing processes, only three aspects will be mentioned here as a basis for further consideration of the use of digital printing systems:

Currently, there are the following significant advantages to using digital printing systems over conventional ones:

• Shorter order processing times for small print runs (between 200 and 1,500 running meters)
• Lower tooling costs, less waste, and shorter setup times
• Lower inventory levels and inventory management costs (see Tools and Products)
• New applications (e.g., variable data for traceability or versioning)
• Shorter order lead times and turnaround times. These are valuable in themselves to label buyers, who are therefore willing to accept higher prices.
• Higher average margins per order: The additional flexibility also offers label buyers additional benefits (lower inventory levels, no destruction of old stock, lower quality and security costs, event marketing, etc.).

However, there are currently significant limitations on the use of digital printing systems compared to conventional ones:

• Print quality (physical resolution, dot size, and color space) – This results in limitations with gradients to zero, very small fonts, symbols (below 4pt), and fine lines.
• Register accuracy – This is critical because you want to cover as large a Pantone color space as possible with the available process colors CMYK and the color space extension colors GOV.
• Production speed (as independent as possible from resolution or color space)
• System availability due to high maintenance intensity, additional, often automated calibration and cleaning cycles, and insufficient system stability
• Substrate diversity (e.g., shrink sleeves, in-mold, structured paper)
• Ink and toner properties (adhesion & abrasion, low migration, lightfastness, etc.)
• Currently, there are only a few integrated inline solutions that enable the transition from substrate to finished label in a single production run.

The following prerequisites are important for the successful use of digital printing systems over conventional ones—because a digital printing system is not "just another printing press":

• It is essential to have in-house prepress expertise, otherwise print quality (calibration of substrates, color management, optimization of prepress data for the selected digital printing process) and flexibility for last-minute changes cannot be guaranteed.
• Efficient processes to handle the large number of (additionally required) small orders
  (200-1,500m), and to be able to prepare, produce, and deliver them.
• Openness to new business models – sales via web shop, delivery to the filling line, additional logistics services for label buyers, etc.
• Financial strength to shoulder and overcome initial obstacles and necessary learning curves through the use of completely new technology with the support of the system supplier

Most digital providers have so far failed to adequately meet the requirement for accompanying user support when getting started with digital technology.

The choice is yours: Which printing system should interested label printers choose? They have several options:

• Digital printing system with an offline converting solution
• Combination of conventional printing press and digital (offline) printing option
• Use digital printing system and existing conventional inline printing press for finishing and converting
• A conventional printing press with an integrated digital printing unit, currently described as a hybrid printing system.

The term "hybrid printing system" has not yet been clearly defined, but is used to describe the combined use of digital and analog production processes in a printing system.

According to Wikipedia, in technology, the term hybrid refers to a system whose combined elements already represent a solution in their own right. Bringing these elements together is intended to or can result in new, desired properties. Hybrid therefore means that double or multiple solutions with different internal structures are used for the same function.

• The first hybrid vehicles were probably steam ships with sails.
  (coal/wood on water wheels/ship propellers and wind on sails)
• A hybrid electric vehicle is a vehicle with two redundant storage and drive systems, one of which drives an electric motor. Hybrid cars sold in Europe usually have a gasoline engine and an electric motor.

Conclusion: A hybrid system is characterized by the addition of different processes/systems for the same purpose—so that the most suitable one can be used at the right time. This addition inevitably leads to complex interfaces and requires complicated optimizations and often compromises, as there is no clear alignment of the overall system to a primary purpose.

About the author:

Martin Leonhard (51) is responsible for developing the digital business for the Gallus Group as Business Development Manager Digital. He has been working for Gallus as Business Development Manager since 2007 and lives with his family near St. Gallen. Prior to this, he spent eight years at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, among other things, which is extremely beneficial for the smooth coordination of activities surrounding the market launch of the joint development project Gallus DCS 340.