Innovation and the conservation of resources will be under the spotlight, presented by Nuertingen’s UV drying system specialist IST METZ in May in Düsseldorf at the world’s largest printing trade fair drupa. It has been all systems go to ensure the outing is a success: Preparations have been underway for months now just to ensure the elaborate printing demonstrations on two large printing presses will even be possible.

Anyone looking to make a good impression at the world’s largest printing trade fair must have something special to offer and IST METZ is planning another successful presentation this year. “When the opportunity arises to meet with such a concentrated mix of industry representatives, and this only every four years, all the stops need to be pulled out to ensure it is a success,” explains Dirk Jaegers, Managing Director of IST METZ GmbH. And the company group is doing exactly this: There will be two printing units displayed on over 400 square metres of exhibition space with six printing demonstrations taking place daily, showing the international public the possibilities offered by the UV drying technology from IST.

The benefits to this technology have since been recognised by the industry: The solvent-free UV inks dry in split seconds and thus guarantee speedy processing. This means extraordinary effects can be applied to a large range of materials – and IST METZ has been leading the way in the development of this technology for 35 years.

And to ensure the company remains on top, participation every four years in the drupa event in Düsseldorf is a must. As is often the case, practical experience is often the most convincing argument when boasting the superiority of a specific technology. IST METZ is thus once again giving its all, displaying two printing units directly at the trade fair stand equipped with their own drying systems and producing “results to take home”.

For example, a Speedmaster XL 75-5+L sheet-fed offset press from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen will be printing all the components of a tangram game: the outer packaging, the playing instructions, the packaging for the playing pieces and the playing cards. The customers can take away the puzzle game directly afterwards as a memento.

Using a second inkjet printing press from manufacturer m print, IST METZ will be demonstrating an integrated solution for the drying of UV colours on self-adhesive materials. This comprises an IST end-of-press drying and an LED pinning system from strategic partner Integration Technology Ltd. Self-adhesive banderoles for chocolate bars will be manufactured on the machine.

Both presses, however, are enormous and must be very carefully set up to avoid any interruptions during the printing demonstration. The Heidelberg Speedmaster XL-75, for example, has five colour decks and one coating unit around 14 metres long, four metres wide and almost two metres high. These components need to be accurately adjusted until everything runs smoothly. A good two weeks before the trade fair starts, there will thus be plenty to do for the approximately 45 IST METZ employees present in Düsseldorf, setting up and organising the trade fair stand together with the colleagues from the printing press manufacturers.

“With these printing demonstrations, we will be able to show exactly how accurate and impressive the work carried out by our UV units is – it will certainly be worth the effort,” says Dirk Jaegers. “It involves a lot of work, is however also a unique selling point that makes us stand out. And the successful results from past trade fair appearances confirm this!”

IST METZ GmbH will be taking part in drupa 2012 from 3 to 16 May in Hall 2 at Stand B20.

More information about IST METZ: www.ist-uv.com