Gallus showed at Labelexpo the Print Shop concept

At Labelexpo Europe, Gallus showcased a practical combination of digital and conventional printing methods in the production environment with its Gallus Print Shop concept. For the first time ever, the benefits of digital and conventional manufacturing processes combine to save time and money in label production. The Gallus Print Shop at Labelexpo includes the new Gallus ECS 340 with “Plus” update package, a highly flexible near-line solution comprising the Linoprint L digital printing system from Heidelberg and further processing on the Gallus ECS C for efficient, costsaving digital label production, and the Gallus EM 430 S with short web concept.

All order planning and processing for the three machine systems is linked and controlled by central CERM MIS workflow software. In cooperation with its industrial partner Siegwerk, Gallus is also demonstrating the benefits of LED UV curing technology on the Gallus EM 280 and producing labels live using the latest UV LED inks from Siegwerk.

The Gallus Print Shop concept introduces a new way of producing labels faster and more cost-effectively. It combines the advantages of digital and conventional printing by networking the individual presses and controlling the production process centrally using innovative CERM MIS workflow software complete with acquisition of operating data. Label production is extremely easy, whether all-digital, entirely conventional or hybrid with “preprint & insetting”. A sample order with different surface finishes shows how the Gallus Print Shop concept works in a live demonstration lasting around 15 minutes.

At the touch of a button, a label based on identical print data is printed simultaneously on the same standard substrate on all three machine systems in the Gallus Print Shop. For the first time ever in the label industry, this makes the different printing technologies directly comparable. Samples are handed out during the demonstration for visitors to compare the print results achieved on the three different machine systems. The Gallus Print Shop concept transforms traditionally machine oriented production planning and control into a comprehensive, intelligent end-to-end solution.

This improves machine utilization, enables dynamic and flexible application and combination of all printing methods (new, innovative design and product decoration options) and reduces the overall order planning and processing workload. Gallus is the only supplier to offer the full range of printing methods – both digital and conventional – from a single source, thus ensuring that the Gallus Print Shop concept provides a complete solution for fast and costeffective label production with possible savings of up to 20 percent.

At Labelexpo Europe 2013, the new Gallus ECS 340 took the extremely successful market launch to the next level. A global best-seller (nearly 200 machines have been installed since the market launch at the end of 2009), the Gallus ECS 340 now benefits from a new, highly cost-efficient “Plus” update package. This package consists of six productivity-boosting innovations: 1) A screen printing unit, 2) more powerful UV curing, 3) a secondary rail system, 4) new unwinding and rewinding equipment and a foil kit for monofoil substrates, 5) a software update with a higher maximum machine speed and 6) a new touchscreen user interface.

These substantial further developments – the result of close cooperation with Gallus customers – enable labelprinters to provide a better customer service, extend their range of applications and significantly boost their cost-efficiency. The Gallus ECS 340 ensures top productivity and exceptional ease of use. Thanks to the new “Plus” update package, it delivers even higher performance levels and can be used for even more applications.

Due to the steady growth in demand for short and/or variable print runs, professional labelprinters increasingly require digital printing systems that support flexible, high-quality and cost-efficient production of such runs. Comprising the Linoprint L from Heidelberg and the Gallus ECS C, the highly flexible nearline solution from Gallus combines the benefits of high-resolution, four-colour digital inkjet printing and conventional high-performance finishing. Labels can be printed digitally inline on the Heidelberg Linoprint L and finished and die cut on the Gallus ECS C as required, or the two machines can be operated independently offline. It couldn’t be easier to switch from inline to offline operation or vice versa at the touch of a button. Thanks to this unique hybrid option, labelprinters remain highly flexible and can avoid downtimes while also benefiting from cost-efficient production.

In addition to a high native resolution of 600 dpi and a print speed of up to 48 m/min, the Linoprint L from Heidelberg offers the possibility of precise insetting on pre-diecut rolls with zero waste following interruptions in the production run. In conjunction with the maximum printing width of 315 mm, this ensures optimum productivity in digital printing. The Heidelberg Linoprint L thus augments Gallus’s existing portfolio of flexographic, offset, rotogravure and screen printing solutions by adding a digital printing solution that is able to deliver cost-effective printing of short and/or variable runs in the label sector.

The Gallus stand included two digital printing systems with different working widths for challenging variable short runs. While the 210 mm system and the Gallus ECS C are integrated into the Gallus Print Shop as a highly flexible near-line solution for hybrid label production, the 315 mm system gives visitors an insight into the higher print quality made possible by the new digital front end.

With its shorter web path of 2.2 metres, faster response times for register adjustment and a quick-change sleeve system, this latest Gallus short-web solution reduces waste by up to 40 percent compared to conventional label presses, which also leads to a substantial improvement in productivity. The combination press can be configured to meet the highest demands. What’s more, it supports UV flexographic, rotary screen, rotogravure and cold-foil printing, hot-foil and relief embossing and die cutting. This unique Gallus hybrid press can switch quickly and easily between flexographic and screen printing without separating or affecting the web. Customers estimate that the Gallus EM 430 S cuts the costs of certain jobs by up to 30 percent.

Gallus has joined forces with its industry partner Siegwerk to demonstrate industrial label production using UV LED inks from Siegwerk on a Gallus EM 280 with a complete LED UV curing system at the Siegwerk stand (11P10). The UV inks specially developed by Siegwerk for the specific radiation spectrum of LED light are cured by state-of-the-art lamps from Phoseon Technology. As early as 2009, Gallus demonstrated great commitment to energy-efficient LED technology for label presses. Together with ink manufacturer Siegwerk and LED UV expert Phoseon, it pioneered the use of LED UV inks for printing at Labelexpo Europe 2009 and exhibited a Gallus ECS 340 with an LED UV lamp.

At 16 W/cm², the radiated power of the Phoseon lamps now available is twice as high. This ensures they can be used efficiently in a wide range of applications. On the one hand, the high energy efficiency of LED technology reduces energy costs. On the other, labelprinters benefit from far higher process reliability during curing. What’s more, the LED UV curing system used by Gallus requires no warm-up phase, delivers consistently high performance throughout its service life and requires virtually no maintenance.

The labels produced on the Gallus EM 280 with LED UV are also used as pre-prints for latestage versioning with precise insetting on the Linoprint L from Heidelberg. This makes Gallus the only press manufacturer at Labelexpo to be providing a live demonstration of label production that combines the benefits of digital and flexographic printing and makes exclusive use of LED UV curing technology. By doing so, it is introducing the next step in establishing LED technology in the label industry.

The Gallus RCS 330/430 combines a limitless range of applications with a high level of automation to deliver maximum productivity. The ability to combine printing and finishing processes almost at will makes the Gallus RCS 330/430 a real all-rounder at the highest possible level. In the specially designed Gallus RCS sector, the multifunctional Gallus RCS combines a unique multiprocess capability with maximum job change efficiency.