GIRONA, Spain—With a reported resounding success in attendance, Comexi and hubergroup presented their latest innovations and solutions in a busy Open House called Flexo Innovation Day, which was held Oct. 24 at Comexi’s CTec facilities, located in Girona, Spain.
This special event was directed to Southwest European clients. More than 50 managing and technical directors joined together to attend the different presentations and demonstrations that the two companies performed with latest product developments and applications options for flexible packaging printing. The attendees had the opportunity to see firsthand the latest technologies that are appearing in the sector and mainly discover new added value opportunities and trends that bring benefits to the flexible packaging industry.
The Open House included experts in the sector such as Sante Conselvan, president of FTA Europe, who explained the latest in the world of flexographic packaging trends. Also, Paolo Bonamigo focused his speech on the restorable gravure-printed products that currently can be made in flexo printing, the new challenges in raw material evaluation and the special innovative lamination inks and coatings that hubergroup have launched, which are meant to boost print quality and efficiency. In this sense, Dr. Lutz Frischmann detailed how hubergroup has been able to overcome binder system immanent restrictions and open up a new world of applications with its solvent-based Gecko Platinum Flexo printing inks.
Giuseppe Gianetti also presented the properties of innovative Gecko Frontal Uni Premium ink, which covers the maximum feasible application range available for NC based frontal printing inks and enhances performance. “Nowadays, there is no need to settle for less business, more ink sets changes or reduce flexibility. With this solvent-based frontal printing inks, converters don’t have any restrictions and they can enlarge their portfolio,” said Gianetti.
Moreover, the new generation of hubergroup surface inks for multiple films PE, BOPP, chemical treated PET or Corona treated BOPA reportedly have superior wet adhesion and scratch fastness that are meant to further applications in surface printing. “Tactile varnishes give to the converters the opportunity to create surface effects combining optical effect like contrast gloss and mat with tactile experience, generating a lot of different combinations and applications,” explained Gianetti. Also, during the event, attendees could analyze 2 K Paper touch, a waterproof paper on a plastic film while Dr. Lars Hancke detailed the importance of haptic perception and tactile coatings.
On the other hand, Comexi’s Flexo Brand Manager Raúl El-Fakdi explained new developments in the current dynamic flexographic printing environment and the attendees could discover by means of demonstrations the main benefits from hubergroup inks, Comexi flexo presses and new Comexi’s Cingular Match fixed palette technology that permits reduction of the printing run and minimizes waste.
In this sense, Carles Rodríguez, Comexi’s laminating brand manager, and Albert Torrent, Comexi’s slitting brand manager, explained also with demos the novelties in the laminating and slitting fields and how Comexi’s latest technologies, research and automation are meant to increase converters’ performance and offer wide range of opportunities in retort pouches. In this sense, attendees were able to see three different solutions—a Comexi F2 MC press, one of the latest Comexi’s lamination developments, and S1 DT slitter with laser technology and integrated robot—working in different jobs. They could also check the high-quality printing and top performance of the laminating and slitting innovations presented during the event.
After the lectures and demonstrations, the participants were able to enjoy a private dinner at AC Bellavista Hotel in Girona, providing an opportunity for inspiring discussions and new contacts in the sector.
Comex Sales Director Jordi Gorchs, and Lluís Castro, hubergroup’s Spain managing director, closed this technical and practical event thanking the participation and great interest of the attendees. “It has been a fantastic opportunity to show in firsthand what brings benefit to the industry, strengthen bonds between companies take note of which is the future of this sector,” says Jordi Gorchs. In the same way, Lluís Castro, emphasizes: “As our slogan says, ‘More than just ink…’; we work together with our partners—customers and co-suppliers—in order to provide solutions to the trends in today’s packaging that make all our companies more competitive in a more and more demanding market.”