EFI has made digital and single pass part of the mainstream workflow with its Nozomi range, according to its packaging global sales director, Richard Cotterill.

Cotterill, who spoke to ProPack.pro during his recent visit to Australia, said since it was first shown on a global platform in 2016, the EFI Nozomi range has become one of the leading digital presses in packaging.

“When you look at digital printers for packaging, the Nozomi was well ahead of its time back in 2016 when it was first shown at drupa. In 2017, we had our first customer installation – and single-pass and digital was very much a new buzzword,” he said.

“What we’ve done since has made the product very robust – into a truly industrial product. We’ve focused on making a platform that is reliable, and robust in the market and machines that consistently deliver.

“Today, in our customer base, we have a global footprint of 40 Nozomi machines installed globally. And this year, those machines will produce over 200 million square metres of packaging and display. That’s quite a significant footprint.

“Our development has been focused on making sure we have a truly industrial solution. The next phase of that is the Nozomi 14000 LED, which has just been launched and is already proving very successful with our customer base.”

EFI has already completed an installation of this new EFI Nozomi 14000 LED product at UK-based corrugated packaging manufacturer Caps Cases. It also sold the first 14000 LED in the US to Complete Design & Packaging.

In addition, the Delta Group in London has purchased Europe’s first EFI Nozomi 18000 Plus  LED single-pass printer for display graphics.

According to Cotterill, A/NZ printers and packaging companies can create opportunities from the Nozomi 14000 LED and the C18000 Plus.

“It’s a case of looking at what they do today and how they produce things today. Printers and packaging companies may consider shifting some of their short-run jobs from analogue presses to the digital presses where it is more cost-effective. This would drive overall greater efficiency and profitability on their analogue presses which could now focus on delivering longer run jobs,” he said.

“It also gives them the opportunity to plug into new segments such as e-Commerce and deliver the level of personalisation and customisation that the consumers are looking for today.

“There’s also the opportunity to use special features such as white ink, where customers can use it to print on uncoated brown craft liners, then print vibrant colours over the top of the white. This results in bright, eye-catching colours on a brown craft liner.”

EFI has no plans in slowing down in terms of R&D for future models of the Nozomi.

“Digital used to be a nice add on. But today, we’ve made it part of the mainstream workflow. We traditionally reinvest 15 to 20 per cent of our turnover in R&D every year and this translates into constant innovation at Nozomi single-pass inkjet printing technology,” Cotterill said.

“We’re working with not only the printhead manufacturers but other partners such as the peripherals that go into the machine to improve the total workflow solution that our customers need.

“We’re taking a holistic approach to the business. We’re also listening to our customers as to what they want in future presses. EFI will continue to remain at the forefront of single- pass digital printing for packaging and we will be bringing new things to market.”

The full interview with Richard Cotterill will be published in the upcoming August issue of ProPack.pro.