Screen Japan and Chiyoda Gravure Printing have partnered to drive digital printing for flexible packaging materials by using Screen’s Truepress PAC 830F, a new water-based digital inkjet system first announced in development in 2020.

According to Screen, countries worldwide have increasingly moved to create a sustainable society, and the packaging industry has also seen a growing need for more environmentally – conscious production methods and greater responsibility in its supply chain. At the same time, maturing consumer preferences have also created a trend toward diversified small lot production using flexible packaging.

While gravure and some flexo printing have been the standard across the industry until recently, this method is best suited to large print runs. When it is used for small to medium lot work, several problems arise, including low productivity, significant strain on operators and considerable losses due to discarding unused products. 

Screen had announced in 2020 that it was creating a new inkjet system. Since then, it has been improving the system’s quality to levels that would satisfy market requirements with the help of customer feedback. 

The Truepress PAC 830F is specially designed for flexible packaging. It uses drop-on-demand inkjet technology to handle media up to 830 millimetres wide at 75 metres per minute. 

The system can also print at a resolution of 1,200 dpi using a built-in primer coater that increases ink adherence. 

Equios, serving as its digital front end (DFE), has evolved with Screen’s Truepress JET and Truepress Label series and is now optimised exclusively for the Truepress PAC 830F. 

Against this backdrop, Chiyoda and Screen GA have recently worked together to install the Truepress PAC 830F at Chiyoda’s facility. 

Both companies have agreed to jointly drive the increased use of digital printing for flexible packaging, with the shared aims of expanding target applications for the Truepress PAC 830F as a production system, constructing an improved digital workflow, and identifying and resolving various issues that occur in small to medium lot production processes.

It is expected that the PAC 830F will be installed in the new IIC in The Netherlands and may be exhibited at drupa 2024 in Düsseldorf, Germany.