Bobst develops new products for flexible packaging

Bobst has announced new products for the flexible packaging industry during its virtual press conference. The company has also introduced new features for its Vision RS 5003 gravure press.

The company is developing oneBarrier family of new alternative and sustainable substrates with its partners. One key project within oneBarrier is focused on developing EVOH-free solutions for high barrier full mono material polyethylene (PE), whereby maximizing the amount of PE, Bobst is working to provide a packaging structure that is recyclable and economical.

Future projects are focused on other mono material plastic products as well as developing alternative fiber-based paper packaging, which will be recyclable.

Bobst claims that OneBarrier has the potential to transform the industry moving towards high barrier mono-materials as environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional multi-plastic and multi-material packaging.

The recently launched Vision RS 5003 is a highly productive gravure press that prints at speeds up to 450m/min on a wide range of flexible substrates.

Bobst has announced new features for the Vision RS 5003 that address specific customer needs and meet specific local market requirements. For example, in India and other regions, converters are looking to improve their sustainability credentials while also looking for high-speed presses with automation features.

The gravure press automation features and smart trolleys make job preparation fast and easy. The Total Automatic Pre-register Setting (TAPS) enables fast machine set-up and minimum waste independent of the press operator skills.

Bobst has partnered with Siegwerk to develop successful water-based applications on its gravure presses, utilizing Siegwerk’s new formulation water-based inks. According to Bobst, the partnership with the ink manufacturer aims to provide ink formulas for gravure printing that have much lower VOC content than many current alternative water-based offerings on the market.

Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO Bobst Group, said: ‘We developed an ambitious vision and one year on, we are rolling out new solutions to help brand owners and converters to deliver better quality, efficiency, control, in a sustainable manner at a time when these qualities have never been more important.’