Background

Headquartered in Wikon, Switzerland, Hunkeler AG has over 100 years as a leader in paper processing solutions. They initially developed Hunkeler Innovationdays (HID) as a way for their partners and themselves to bring together some of the latest digital printing equipment and workflows with the latest finishing equipment and workflows to showcase complete solutions. As we all know, “the printing isn’t complete until it is finished”. This year Hunkeler Innovationdays will again return to the industry and Lucerne, Switzerland. This very focused biennial event was last held post-pandemic in February 2023, and that one surpassed the expectations of many.

Innovationdays

Unlike most expos, you will not see the fancy booth setups or other hall distractions, only state-of-the-art digital print and finishing equipment displayed as application solutions. This is done in an atmosphere that presents exhibitors almost as equals, in “pipe and drape” fashion, without much of the hype or fanfare that you might expect at a printing expo. The only real distractions are those of the host city, Lucerne, Switzerland, one of the most picturesque cities in the world—even in the winter or perhaps especially in the winter. This year, the famous Lucerne Carnival will take place at the end of HID. For those who haven’t experience it, this event is as unique as HID!

In all fairness, this isn’t really a printing show as you would normally expect. In 2023, over the course of four days, the event hosted over 100 exhibitors and about 6,500 people from 100 countries. As a result of the overwhelming interest, and the addition of many new exhibitors, this year HID will be expanding their exhibition space.

While it is still somewhat compact in size, it is still focused and reinforces that the event has become much more international. The uniqueness of Innovationdays is a direct result of a passion and understanding that print and packaging service providers need to see the possibilities of a complete solution. This can only happen since Hunkeler AG, recognized as the largest manufacturer of print finishing equipment in the world, is a partner with almost all printer manufacturers and many print finishing manufacturers as well.

Hunkeler AG was acquired by family-owned Müller Martini AG in December, 2023, creating a global print finishing powerhouse. The newly combined companies believe in the importance of investment and continue to set aside a significant portion of their turnover for R&D.

As the market continues to change in countries around the world, connectivity, distribution, and support partnerships that best support customers and partners will be key. While each of the companies brands, products and developments will remain with each respective company, we do expect some collaboration on future products, especially in the area of automation. Hunkeler Innovationdays, and more importantly the new combined companies will undoubtedly continue to be a success, since in their own words: “Partnering is the development of successful longterm, strategic relationships.” That philosophy is evident at this event. Today, more than ever, looking at complete automated workflows is a very timely topic considering the growth and impact of production inkjet technology combined with the demands of labor and cost pressures, and quick turnarounds.

Historically, many of the printer manufacturers have used Innovationdays to launch new or upgraded products. We would expect that this year is really no different, even though we have just come off the tailwinds created by drupa 2024. This year, HID 2025 will also include both continuous-feed and sheetfed systems and workflows to better meet the shifting market requirements.

Some highlights will include:

Canon will be showing the latest updates on their ProStream 3000 series webfed inkjet production print solution printing at over 500 fpm, as well as the latest in their cut-sheet VarioPrint iX series. Both of these platforms can print offset quality at 1200x1200 dpi on a range of media, including offset coated.

HP will be showing their Pagewide Advantage 2200 with HP Brilliant Ink, the latest high-performance production inkjet printer on a new, configurable and more compact platform. It can print in quality mode at up to 800 fpm.

Last year Kodak showed their Prosper Ultra 520. This new press uses their Ultrastream continuous inkjet technology to match offset quality at up to 500 fpm with some finishing solutions.

Ricoh will likely be showing the RicohPro VC 80000, the latest version of their flagship press which prints up to 492 fpm and includes business intelligence capabilities via the Ricoh Pro Scanner and Ricoh Supervisor, Ricoh’s Automation Suite’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). There may also be some cut-sheet solutions.

SCREEN will show the latest version of their Truepress Jet 560HDX with their wide gamut inks and NIR dryer with low-heat three-stage drying technique including a heated drum and air knife for printing on offset coated papers.

Xeikon will likely be showing their Sirius SX30000 Graphic Arts application printer.

To keep with the Connect theme, there will be print and embellishment solutions from Bluecrest, Fujifilm, Kyocera, Riso, Scodix, PSI, and others. There will be over 32 finishing equipment suppliers there including, Horizon, Müller Martini, Duplo, Bluecrest, Bowe Systec, Kern, W+D, Contiweb, c.p. bourg, digibook, Harris & Bruno, Ibis, Meccanotecnica, Plockmatic, Quadient, and many others. Many of these solutions will be shown in line with printers as well as offline in booths.

Of course there will also be material handling and workflow software solutions on display like those from Ultimate Technographics, Enfocus, Hybrid Software, ePS, FourPees, Hybrid Software, Impressed, Ironsides, OneVision, SpencerMetrics, UltimateTech, XMPie Software, and many others.

Here you can find a complete updated list of exhibitors.

Print services providers, industry manufacturers, and supplies find this event a “must see” since they can get up close to review what is out there. More importantly, as a print services provider, this is probably the only place where you can easily see what production inkjet print and finishing is available, compare it, and get answers to the questions you may have about how all of the pieces can fit together to integrate and automate processes and address your specific requirements.

Of course Hunkeler and Müller Martini will be showing their latest finishing solutions that have historically been targeted at transactional, book, and direct mail, with a focus on intelligently networked and highly automated processes and customized printing products. However, their new generation products are targeted not just at solutions for today but also designed with an obvious eye on tomorrow, and while they might not mention it, some of these new solutions even seem to be “packaging-ready.” In fact, like most of the inkjet printer manufacturers, I am sure we will see some focus on packaging solutions as well.

The theme of this year’s event is “CONNECT,” and as it has in the past it will host a DOXNET onsite conference where participants can learn and network. A big part of the expo is connecting with exhibitors as well as fellow print service providers. There are many places throughout the event hall, including the cafeteria, where you can meet.

Ultimately, the industry as a whole is moving toward more connected business and production environments. HID 2025 will be focused on this new reality, and display solutions that can help print service providers to prepare for today and tomorrow. HID 2025 will be held February 24–27, and if you haven’t already registered, there is still time to do that and make travel plans. As someone who has been to many conferences and expos around the world, I can say that this one is unique and will not disappoint.

More to Come…

I would like to address your interests and concerns in future articles as it relates to the manufacturing of Print, Packaging, and Labels, and how, if at all, it drives future workflows including “Industry 4.0 and 5.0.” If you have any interesting examples of hybrid and bespoke manufacturing, I am very anxious to hear about them. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any questions, suggestions, or examples of interesting applications.