Koenig & Bauer Durst GmbH has confirmed plans to bring the VariJET 106 to market with the first installation of the single-pass digital printing press at a customer site early next year, prior to a formal unveiling at the rearranged drupa.
Targeting the folding carton industry, the B1 6,000sph VariJET 106 is at the heart of the collaborative development between Koenig & Bauer and Durst. It integrates inkjet technology into the platform of the high-performance Rapida 106 offset press.
The VariJET 106 combines the strengths of digital inkjet with those of classic offset printing and inline finishing. It is this flexibility which defines the VariJET 106 as a productive and cost-efficient hybrid printing system for digital packaging printing. The VariJET 106 can produce personalised and individualised print products or alternate between short and medium runs.
The announcements have also included updates on its single-pass corrugated presses – the Delta SPC 130 and the CorruJET 170 – which have a specific focus on delivering for the stringent requirements of the packaging sector.
A digital priming unit for uncoated media will broaden the applications customers can address on the Delta SPC 130, as well as extend the range of media that can be used for printing. Special colours being introduced for the fifth and sixth colour stations will enable converters to meet brand colour requirements.
For the CorruJET 170, successful beta testing has been completed at the Kolb Group in Bavaria, Germany. Based on Koenig & Bauer’s RotaJET inkjet web press for commercial printing, The CorruJET 170 post-prints sheets of corrugated up to 1.7m wide at up to 137m per min on water based, food safe inks.
Robert Stabler, Managing Director, Koenig & Bauer Durst, said, “We’re really excited by the opportunities and progress with our much-anticipated VariJET 106. We have a number of existing customers that would like to be beta sites and we plan to show them the press after the summer. The customer we choose will have a vision for mass customisation and be a good partner for a beta site.”
