OPM Europa from Tilburg, The Netherlands developed an inkjet printer with water-based ink for direct-to-object printing of containers and bottles. The inkjet device is Powered by Memjet, who has an extensive track record in digital print technology.
DG press from Hall, The Netherlands provided the machine engineering, construction installation and global aftermarket service.
Direct-to-object inkjet printing of cans and bottles is an application with strong growth. Many objects are using pressure sensitive film-based labels which can negatively impact the recyclability of the object. Direct-to-object inkjet printing offers a sustainable option with water based inks which are safe to use and friendlier to the environment than UV, solvent or liquid toner inks.
OPM Europa BV is the first company who enables direct printing of jerry cans, paint cans and HDPE/LDPE bottles with aqueous inkjet inks worldwide. The solution offers not only environmental but also economic advantages. Cost savings are achievable for short to medium production runs and a positive return on investment can be realized in less than six months.
Dursun Acun, owner and managing director of OPM Europa: “We have been researching the market for water-based inkjet technology for years and concluded that Memjet has the most sophisticated and suitable solutions for this application. With the LabelSaver ™, we can 360-degree print up to 3,000 cans per hour in full color. Paint cans is challenging, as the demands to print quality and provide chemical resistance at the same time is extremely high. The LabelSaver ™ is versatile and can easily be adapted for other size and materials of containers. The logistical cost savings for the customer are enormous; no need to order and wait for your labels, no need to align production volumes and number of labels of many kinds, and of course print design changes can be made on the fly with no need for new printing plates. Now you can print on demand and to order volume at the time you start filling your goods! Logistical savings allow an ROI in less than 6 months.”
Remko Koolbergen, Director of DG press, commented on the importance for OPM Europe and DG press to combine their expertise: “DG press is a well-established machine manufacturer of high end hybrid printing presses with an excellent service reputation worldwide. We know the label market very well, and the trend to eliminate pressure sensitive labels is strengthening.
We believe in the near future labels will be increasingly replaced by inkjet object-to-container printing. For our future business and our customers’ business, we want to build and support this unique featured LabelSaver ™. We engineer, install and service the machine and its controls on any place in the world. We believe the LabelSaver ™ will give a strong positive contribution to the digital print business direct-to-object.”
Donald Allred, VP of Packaging at Memjet, adds: “We are delighted to see Memjet as the technology of choice for this type of application. Direct-to-shape digital inkjet printing provides many manufacturers with the flexibility and benefits of digital printing while providing a positive impact on their profits. Congratulations to Dursun and his associates for diligently working to bring this new capability to the market.”
Waterbased Inkjet printing solutions at Drupa 2020
DG press will be showing the LabelSaver ™ on booth C-02 in hall 16 at this year’s Drupa from June 16th to June 26th, in Düsseldorf, Germany. The DG press staff will be happy to provide more information on the possibilities of digital direct-to-object printing.