HP and KBA Joint Effort to Aid Corrugated Preprint
- Published: March 24, 2015
WASHINGTON C | HP and KBA report plans to develop the HP T1000 Simplex color inkjet web press, a high speed, high-volume, 110-in.-wide (2.8 m) web press for preprinting corrugated top liner. Companies say this will enable corrugators to combine many individual jobs together on a roll or across rolls for short, mid, or long runs. Unlike traditional analog preprint, every box can be different.
Planned to print at speeds to 600 fpm (183 mpm) and produce up to 300,000 sq ft /hr (30,000 sq m), this inkjet press will print corrugated liner rolls that can then be placed directly onto existing industry-standard 110 in.-wide (2.5- or 2.8-m) corrugators. This press will be the first solution co-developed by the two companies since the announcement of their strategic collaboration at Graph Expo 2014 in Chicago on September 28, 2014.
Reportedly, centralized corrugated box plants serving major retail brands will especially benefit from this digital preprint solution for all corrugated print applications, since brands are increasingly requiring just-in-time inventory, shorter runs, and faster turnaround time.
“Addressing the enormous digital opportunity in the corrugated market requires best-in-class technology innovation, a portfolio of solutions, scale, and a market vision,” says Aurelio Maruggi, VP and general manager, Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions, HP. “The new press will transform the short and mid-range corrugated packaging market, dramatically disrupting operating models and costs and more importantly, will create new value for brand customers.”
In May 2014 at Interpack, HP announced its intent to enter the corrugated packaging market. In June, the company announced its first web-press offering for this market. Fewer than 90 days later, the first HP T400 Simplex color inkjet web press was installed at Obaly Morava in the Czech Republic.
