We kicked of this topic by presenting a number of trends that are slowly driving corrugated press volumes toward inkjet production. Unlike single substrate folding cartons, corrugated packaging is produced by gluing corrugated medium (or fluting) between inner and outer liners. There are two types of corrugated print production process defined by whether printing happens previous to (pre) or post the corrugation process. In this shopping guide we are digging into the single-pass inkjet presses serving the post-print, direct-to-corrugated packaging market but many of these presses cross over into other segments such as display graphics.
Keep in mind that most volume for this market is served by flexo presses, or by laminating litho-produced graphics onto the corrugated media. However, these are static processes suited to long runs and as inkjet running costs and packaging job sizes drop, the breakeven volume for inkjet goes up. Various OEMs claim breakeven volumes of anywhere from 5,000 to 12,000 sheets but the break-even ceiling is eliminated once personalization is in the mix.
Wide media and a wide range of options
The single pass presses included in this guide support board widths of roughly one meter up to 2.5 meters. The speeds, color channels and resolution also vary widely. The majority of presses offer only CMYK, but some like the EFI Nozomi C18000 presses and the Delta SPC130 from Koenig & Bauer Durst offer three additional colors. The presses also vary in their use of water-based or UV inks as well as priming. Native resolutions vary from a low of 360dpi to 1200dpi with several presses offering varied speed/resolution combinations. Even when 1200 dpi is available, many companies run presses at lower resolution to control ink and overall production costs. Some OEMs who support multiple grey levels like to talk about “effective” or “apparent” resolution but the values we have presented here are the native resolutions. As always, note that resolution does not equal image quality, your mileage may vary, see dealer for details, etc. etc.
The newest presses on the list are the Agfa SpeedSet, HP PageWide C550, and the Flora Rhino 2500. These presses encapsulate the range of the overall field. The Rhino supports board of more than twice the width of the SpeedSet but runs at only 20% of the speed (at similar, if slightly lower resolution.) The HP runs at similar speed to the Rhino, with roughly half the board width but offers two additional colors. While some of the presses in our Shopping Guide play in both the corrugated packaging and post-print markets, the Agfa SpeedSet straddles folding carton and corrugated and currently only supports the microflute corrugated configuration. In this growing market there is a place in the market for all these capability profiles and more. Overall, we have detailed 17 presses from 12 OEMs. We pulled the five widest presses, which are from Flora, Hanway and Kento, into their own table.
Read on for more details on each press and OEM or skip to the tables at the end.
Featured inkjet presses for corrugated post-print applications
We have highlighted presses from 10 OEMs serving the market below with the goal of providing an even-handed presentation of available specifications and capabilities. Where available, we have provided notes on recent customer installations.
Companies are listed in alphabetical order and several tables are provided at the end of the article which segment competitive presses for ease of comparison.
Agfa Speed Set 1060
Belgium-based Agfa teased this release throughout 2023. The new packaging market entry was officially unveiled in December with the first two beta machines scheduled for installation in the UK in Q2 2024 and US later this year. The press is designed to be compatible with folding carton, coated papers, litho papers, and micro flute materials. It is primarily a folding carton solution only serving a limited aspect of corrugated post-print using E-Flute or F-Flute media (micro-flute). Micro-flute is increasingly a substitute for folding carton, or used for clamshell “fast food” containers, small retail packaging, and other specialty packing applications. The media limitations are important when comparing with other corrugated options below.
The SpeedSet 1060 uses Agfa aqueous inks with Fujifilm Dimatix Samba printheads to deliver native resolution of up to 1200x1200 dpi. The press operates at a blazing speed of 150 m/min or 11,000 sheets/hour at 800 x 600 dpi resolution and boasts 1200 dpi performance at 100 to 120 m/min before considering that it is limited in the corrugated media used. (The SPC 2500 from Flora has similar speed/resolution on the full range of corrugated board.) The SpeedSet prints on corrugated board up to 1060 mm wide and 2 mm thick, with a print width of 1040 mm.
The first SpeedSet presses will be built with four color channels but there is room to expand to up to seven colors. The press is built with three additional print bars to support primer and varnish. The inks, primer and varnish are marketed as “environmentally friendly” and comply with food-safety regulations.
The drying process uses a mix of infra-red and hot air while the transport system uses a vacuum system to hold the boards flat both of which support high speed production. The press also includes a variety of quality control systems, including an automated rejection unit to divert defects without slowing down production.
Barberán Jetmaster Series
Spain-based Barberán first introduced the Jetmaster way back in 2007 but has expanded and enhanced the series. Jetmaster models can print on multiple substrates in décor, panel, and packaging print.
There are three Jetmaster models of varying sizes specifically to support corrugated: the Jetmaster Series 1260, 1750 and 1890. Note that Barberán quotes print widths rather than board widths at 1380 mm, 1610 mm, and 1840 mm respectively for the models in the series.
The presses run at between 80 and 120 m/min. with a self-calibrating inspection system that contributes to reliable press up-time. Other productivity features include the ability to support two streams which allows multiple project versions to be produced in-line using the same structure with no changeover and a max sheet size of 1.613 m x 3 m.
The Jetmasters use UV inks and printheads producing three drop sizes (four grey levels). The latest models feature a higher imaging resolution than previous models at 600 dpi but still lower than the top resolution in the market of 1200 dpi. However, they are available with CMYK plus 2 additional colors including options for Light Cyan, Light Magenta, Light Black, or Orange & Violet.
Barberán has distinguished themselves by offering an open ink model, and there are currently four approved ink manufacturers including Fujifilm, Toyo, Sakata INX, and Kao Chimigraf.
There were approximately 80 installations across the series as of the end of 2023 including a Jetmaster Series 1750 installed at Peachtree Packaging and Display in Georgia last year.
Barberán has also worked with Fujifilm on the HS6000 press, based on the Jetmaster, to focus on the corrugated sign and display market. This model will handle boards up to 1.7m wide and 1.8m long and include adaptations to enable a broader range of materials including correx and foamboard. The printheads are Epson (like other Barberán models) but inks are from Fujifilm. At the end of last year the company said that they had four letters of intent from companies wanting to invest in the press, but a firm date for commercial availability has not been announced.
Domino X630i
Headquartered in UK, Domino first introduced the X630i back in 2020 and has continued to enhance the X-series press with additional drying, coating, and media handling options. The press is based on Domino’s generation 6 inkjet platform and their AQ95 aqueous ink set.
The CMYK inks are food packaging compliance and contain i-Tech PolyM, a micro polymeric particle component added to enable reliable printing on both coated and uncoated corrugated board types. The intention is to eliminate the need for, and cost of, additional primers or other pre-treatments to facilitate media compatibility.
The press supports a maximum resolution of 600 dpi and at maximum speed of 75 m/min it is on the slower end of the presses, but it has quite a bit of company in that speed range. It offers several features to maximum up-time branded as “iTech components” which automate inkjet cleaning, capping, and continuous ink recirculation along with warp detection and sheet cleaning. The X-series supports a maximum sheet size of 1.6 x 3m within a relatively compact footprint.
There are multiple units installed including one at Independent II, LLC in Louisville, Kentucky.
EFI Nozomi C18000 Plus and EFI Nozomi C14000 LED
US-based EFI offers three Nozomi presses for printing on corrugated, with one of those focused on the display graphics market. The Nozomi series has been very popular with 50 having been installed before the end of 2023. All of them use EFI UV inks along with an aqueous priming solution and are configured for up to seven colors, including CMYK, white, orange and violet (configured as CMYK, CMYK+W, CMYK+OV, CMYK+OVW.) The inks are designed to odorless, without hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that would necessitate vapor recovery. The inks are also highly recyclable. The two presses focused on corrugated packaging are the Nozomi C18000 Plus and the Nozomi C14000 LED.
The Nozomi C18000 Plus, as the name implies, has seen upgrades over previous Nozomi models. The press uses piezoelectric heads with four grey levels producing 360 dpi output at up to 75 m/min which is the same speed as the Domino. To control quality, the press includes EFI’s Artificial Vision (AV) for accurate color adjustment, as well as nozzle out and defect detection.
It handles board sizes of up to 1.8 x 3m and is configured with a bottom feeder, standard coater, and full stacker. DS Smith in Cambridgeshire, UK purchased their second Nozomi press in 2023.
The Nozomi C14000 LED offers the same resolution and color options in a smaller physical and financial package. It runs at the same speed as the C18000 Plus on corrugated board and at 25% higher speed on uncoated liners. The press runs at up to 100 m/min and supports corrugated media up to 1.4 x 2.4 m.
Flora Rhino 2500 and SPC2500 Pro
Chinese OEM Shenzhen Runtianzhi Digital Equipment Co., Ltd (RTZ) brings us the first of our large, corrugated presses supporting board widths over 2 meters. RTZ produces a wide array of inkjet technology for industrial applications and markets that are available in more than 80 countries. Their packaging presses are marketed under the FLORA brand. They offer two FLORA presses for corrugated post printing, the Rhino 2500 and SPC2500 Pro both using water based CMYK inks.
Their newest press is the Rhino 2500 launched in July 2023. It uses Epson S3200 series piezo DOD printheads with four grey levels and is offered in “economy” and high-speed versions. The company lists a range of speed / resolution combinations with the highest speed of 90 m/min. providing 450 x 600 dpi and the highest resolution of 1200 x 600 dpi running only 30 m/min. It supports board sizes of up to 2.5 x 1.5 m.
The press is configured with automatic cleaning and moisturizing systems, an auto-feeder, and an optional stacking system supporting media of 2500×1350mm.
The FLORA SPC2500 Pro is a considerably faster and higher resolution press than the Rhino. It runs at between 50 and 150 m/min. and offers a top resolution of native 1200 dpi at the lowest speed. It is tied for top speed with the Agfa SpeedSet, but runs at a slightly lower resolution than the SpeedSet at top speed - but the Flora presses handle a much broader corrugated media range. The SPC2500 Pro supports a slightly narrower board width of 2.2 m versus 2.5 m for the Rhino. It includes an inline coating and slotting systems as well as an automatic cleaning system. Current installation information was not readily available and, while RTZ is active in 50 countries, it is anticipated that the large presses will be primarily available in the Asia Pacific region.Hanway Glory 1606 and 2504 and Elite 2504
The Hanglory Group is a major China-based manufacturer of inkjet presses and Hanway is the subsidy for producing their corrugated inkjet presses. The most recent in the corrugated line-up are the Glory 1606, 2504 and Elite 2504. The latter two are in the over two-meter category while the Glory 1606 handles media up to its namesake 1606 mm in width.
[caption id="attachment_7026" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
Hanway Glory 1606[/caption]
The Glory 1606 uses Kyocera piezo printheads and supports up to 6 colors. It operates at speeds of between 50 and 150 m/min placing it in the high-speed category. Resolution ranges from 600x400 up to a maximum of 600 x 1200 dpi at the various speeds. It uses a combination of infrared and hot air drying.
The Glory 2504 is a much faster and larger press than the 1606 with a slightly lower resolution range. Speeds range from 100 m/min up to 180 m/min claiming the fastest throughput on the list. The 2504 also uses Kyocera heads but only offers up to four colors. The resolution ranges from 600 x 300 dpi at the highest speed up to 600 x 600 dpi at the lowest speed. The press supports boards of 2 x 2.5 m with slotter and stacker integration. It also offers options for primer, varnish, and a rotary die-cutter for fulling integrated box production.
[caption id="attachment_7027" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
Hanway Glory 2504[/caption]
You might expect the Glory Elite 2504 to be a faster press than the 2500 but it is distinguished by a smaller footprint and a slightly higher top resolution of 600 x 900 (versus 600 x 600). It is significantly slower with a top speed of 100 m/min. but is intended to be a more efficient model using less ink as well as less physical space. See previous coverage of Hanglory presses, the Hanglory Group and their expansion into Europe.
HP PageWide C550
The HP PageWide C550 is the latest model in their corrugated portfolio released in early 2023. It replaced the popular C500 press which had been on the market since 2018. The press uses HP thermal heads and aqueous inks and a primer/binder. HP’s CV150 water-based inks are designed to meet stringent food packaging standards and contain no UV-reactive chemistries. It can support board sizes up wot 1.3 x 2.5 m and CMYK plus up to two additional colors.
The press can deliver its full resolution of native 1200 dpi at 90 m/min. The C550 is both faster and overall, more productive than the previous model. It was installed at SAICA in Spain at the end of last year, and HP also announced a strategic relationship with Fosber Group, a leading manufacturer of corrugator machines. Fosber will be part of HP’s PWI SmartStream Solutions Partner Program with the aim of tightening the integration between Fosber’s corrugators and HP’s presses.
Kento Hybrid
Kento is a relatively new, inkjet OEM based in Spain. They have partnered with the more established flexo packaging company Koenig & Bauer Celmacch which is headquartered in Italy. The resulting Kento Hybrid combines inkjet imaging with a variable number of flexo print stations making the best use of both processes. Coverage-heavy solids can be cost effectively processed by the flexo unit(s) and graphics or any variable content can be run on inkjet.
The Kento inkjet imaging process uses Seiko heads and CMYK UV inks with primer. Like Barberan, Kento allows inks to be purchased directly from a list of approved suppliers. The inks comply with food safety standards as well as meeting recyclability goals. An overprint varnish option is also available and a newly introduced rotary die-cutting option.
The Kento Hybrid squeaks into the over two meters category supporting boards of 1.3 x 2.1 m at speeds of up to 80 m/min. The top resolution for the inkjet portion of the process is 360 dpi.
The first European installation is in operation in Spain and the first US installation was at CP Supply in Iowa. See recent coverage of Kento Hybrid.
Konica Minolta PKG-1300
Konica Minolta debuted a new, entry level press at the end of last year based on the Multi 1300 from the Portuguese manufacturer Mtex NS. The PKG-1300 press is designed to support both folding carton and corrugated post-print applications. The configuration includes the printer and an automatic feeder and stacker. While highly automated, it is the slowest press on our list with a top speed of 27 m/min at 300 x 1200 dpi and can deliver full 1200 dpi at 9m/min. It supports boards of up to 1.3 x 1.6m.
The four color PKG-1300 uses aqueous pigment inks and HP printheads, as compared to the previous generation PKG 675i which used Memjet printhead technology. It offers a compact footprint, flexible application mix, and low price point consistent with its speed making it suitable for companies adding packaging to their portfolio.
Koenig & Bauer Durst Delta SPC130 and CorruJET 170
Koenig & Bauer Durst offers a range of solutions for corrugated post print including two variations of the Delta SPC 130 and the CorruJET 170. The Delta SPC line is highly configurable with base models dubbed the Automatic and ECO+. As the name implies, the Delta SPC 130 Automatic is a high-speed and highly automated press operating at up to 120 m/min at 600 dpi and dropping to 90 m/min in high-quality mode of 1000 dpi. The press also runs at an 800 dpi resolution but speed was not specified. Delta SPC 130 ECO+ is less automated and offers a top speed of 80 m/min. along with a lower price tag.
Both presses use recirculating Durst Quadro Array printheads and Koenig & Bauer Durst aqueous inks which are food compliant. They are available with up to six colors, CMYK plus options for Orange and Violet (or Green “on request”) as well as optional primer. The printhead arrays use Dynamic Nozzle Management (DNM) to reduce printhead maintenance and boost productivity. The presses offer various dryer combinations with infrared (IR) and hot air, as well as a conditioning unit and integrated cooler to prepare boards for post treatment. The modular nature makes then easy to integrate with Koenig & Bauer logistics solutions to extend the range and productivity of the press. Board sizes of up to 1.3 x 2.8m are supported.
The CorruJET 170 is faster, higher resolution and handles larger board sizes than the SPC models. The press uses Fujifilm Dimatix Samba piezo print heads to produce 1200 x 600 dpi print at 120 m/min and full 1200 dpi production at lower speed. It is a four-color press, versus option of six colors on the SPC and includes an inline pre-coater and post-coater. It will run boards of up to 1.3 x 1.7m and can be integrated with a CorruCUT rotary die cutter for full automation. The company announced an 170X model that can support boards of up to 1.7 x 2.8m but it is not clear whether it is commercially available in 2024.
Xeikon Idera
Flint Group is well known as a supplier of inks and plates for traditional corrugated printing processes. Following their acquisition of Xeikon in 2015, the Idera is the company’s first foray into digital corrugated post-print. Flint Group supplies the aqueous pigment inks for compatibility with Kyocera KJ4B piezo printheads. The CMYK inks are food compliant, satisfying Nestle, EUPIA and Swiss Ordinance regulatory guidelines.
Operating at a resolution of 600 x 600 dpi, the Idera runs at an average of 120 m/min on uncoated and 60 m/min on coated boards with specifications citing the potential to run at up to 150 m/min “mechanical speed.” The press uses an anilox primer system and in-line water-based varnish. Drying is a combination of IR with hot air.
The maximum board size supported is 1.6 x 2.8m. Xeikon offers several options for the press including a pre-feeder, stacker, and a camera inspection system. The press is positioned to support both packaging and display graphics markets.
Since its introduction in 2023, Ideras were installed at TriState Container Corporation, packaging.digital in Germany and ProCorr Packaging and Display in the US.
Table 1. Presses supporting corrugated board between 1 and 2 meters wide
|
Manufacturer Press |
Ink/Fluid/Colors |
Speed / Resolution |
Max Board Width |
|
Agfa SpeedSet 1060 |
Agfa Aqueous CMYK Primer Varnish |
150 m/min at 800 x 1200 dpi 120 m/min at 1200 x 1200 dpi |
1060 mm Microflute only |
|
Barberán Jetmaster (multiple configurations) |
UV CMYK plus 2 (Light Cyan & Light Magenta or Orange & Violet) |
80 or 120 m/min 600 dpi |
1380 mm 1610 mm 1840 mm |
|
Domino X630i |
AQ95 Aqueous CMYK No primer |
Up to 75 m/min 600 dpi |
1600 mm |
|
EFI Nozomi C14000 LED |
EFI UV CMYK plus white, orange, violet Primer |
100 m/min (liner) 75 m/min board 360 dpi |
1400 mm |
|
EFI Nozomi C18000 Plus Nozomi 18000+ LED |
EFI UV CMYK plus combinations of white, orange, violet Primer |
75 m/min 360 dpi |
1800 mm |
|
Hanway Glory 1606 |
Aqueous CMYK +2 |
50 m/min 600 x 1200 dpi 66 m/min 600 x 900 dpi 100 m/min 600 x 600 dpi 150 m/min 600 x 400 dpi |
1606 mm |
|
HP PageWide C550 |
Aqueous pigment CMYK +2 Primer/binder |
90 m/min at 1200 dpi |
1300 mm |
|
Konica Minolta PKG-1300 |
Aqueous pigment CMYK |
27 m/min. at 300 x 1,200 dpi 18 m/min. at 600 x 1,200 dpi 9 m/min. at 1,200 x 1,200 dpi |
1300 mm |
|
Koenig & Bauer Durst Delta SPC130 |
Koenig & Bauer Durst Aqueous CMYK + Orange + Violet (Green on request) |
120 m/min 600 dpi 90 m/min 1000 dpi ECO+ at 50 – 80 m/min |
1300 mm |
|
Koenig & Bauer Durst CorruJET 170 (and 170X) |
Aqueous CMYK Primer/Precoat |
120 m/min at 1200 x 600 Max resolution 1200 x 1200 |
1700 mm |
|
Xeikon Idera |
Aqueous CMYK |
Up to 120 m/min on uncoated, 60 m/min on coated up to 600 x 600 dpi |
1600 mm |
Table 2. Presses supporting corrugated board wider than 2 meters
|
Manufacturer Press |
Ink/Fluid/Colors |
Speed / Resolution |
Max Board Width |
|
FLORA Rhino 2500 |
Aqueous CMYK |
90 m/min at 450 x 600dpi 60 m/min at 600 x 600dpi 45 m/min at 900 x 600dpi 30 m/min at 1200 x 600dp |
2500 mm |
|
FLORA SPC2500 Pro |
Aqueous CMYK |
150 m/min at 1200x 400dpi 100 m/min at 1200 x 600dpi 75 m/min at 1200 x 800dpi 50 m/min at 1200 x 1200dpi |
2200 mm |
|
Hanway Glory 2504 |
Aqueous CMYK |
100 m/min 600 x 600 dpi 133 m/min 600 x 450 dpi 150 m/min 600 x 400 dpi 180 m/min 600 x 300 dpi |
2500 mm |
|
Hanway Elite 2504 |
Aqueous pigment or dye CMYK |
50 m/min 600 x 900 dpi 75 m/min 600 x 600 dpi 100 m/min 600 x 400 dpi |
2500 mm |
|
Kento Hybrid |
UV CMYK Primer |
Up to 80 m/min 360 dpi |
2100 mm |
This Shopping Guide is intended to give a high-level overview of the single pass, corrugated post-print devices currently available. More details on the products can be found in the Inkjet Insight Device Finder and in previous coverage of some models. Stay tuned for additional packaging related Shopping Guides and make sure to register for our March 12 webinar on Inkjet Innovations in the Packaging Industry.
