Features

With the print industry under intense pressure due to spiralling raw material costs, the paper and consumables sector will find itself under the spotlight more than ever this year.

As a result, ‘efficiency’ is expected to be the watchword at Drupa, with many of the products on show geared up to help printers save money in the long term.

“The market is tough,” says Tony Porter, group marketing director at paper merchant James McNaughton. “People have to be cleverer at running their business. For printers, just putting ink on paper is not going to be enough.”

It’s sometimes the smallest things that can make a big difference, according to Steve Hannon, UK managing director at roller specialist Böttcher, who adds that companies can save money in the long-term by investing in a robust product.

“The market almost falls into two camps,” he says. “There are those committed to maintaining their machinery; they are responsible. Then there are the customers that have the attitude that maintenance takes place only when the press is broken.”

For some, more worrisome than kit downtime is the rising cost of consumables and, in particular, inks. Last year, Sun Chemical was one of several ink manufacturers that raised prices, a move blamed on fluctuating oil prices. They weren’t alone – Flint Group and Stehlin Hostag both followed suit – but Stehlin Hostag UK managing director David Ward reckons that printers need to look at the bigger picture rather than focus on short, sharp rises.

“Ink prices may not be at their cheapest at the moment, but it is a small part of the overall spend,” he says. “We have been focusing on the impact of ink on overall production. Our products are designed to save time and reduce waste and the inks should not be viewed as a cost but as something that gives value.”

As a direct result of current industry hardships, Ward says that printers are getting smarter and measuring their efficiencies in more detail. “People are taking note that the savings made in the long term are significant,” he says. “Some printers will always be purely driven on unit price, but
others are looking at the market in a more intelligent way.”

That can involve investing in inks that have faster drying times or other performance benefits. It also means that reducing waste is a huge factor. “Customers need to only use exactly what they need and optimise their inks usage,” adds Felipe Mellado, corporate vice president and group managing director for Sun Chemical Europe. “It’s about looking at the total cost of print and at every step.”

This is what’s driving the sector and pushing ink manufacturers to come up with more innovative products, a trend that’s not the exclusive domain of the ink sector – the paper industry is also keen to show, at Drupa, the cost savings its innovative new products can deliver to printers.

Paper savings
The likes of M-real, UPM and Sappi have all made costs, sustainability and the environment their central themes for the exhibition. Terhi Koipijärvi, senior vice president for the environment and corporate responsibility at Metsäliitto Group, parent company of M-real, believes that these issues will be on everyone’s mind.

“Environmental issues and cost savings are both of pressing concern to us and our customers,” says Koipijärvi. “We will be talking at Drupa about some major initiatives M-real is introducing.”

The group is launching a “systematic framework” for calculating the carbon footprint of all of M-real’s products. It’s also unveiling Metsäliitto’s climate change programme, which highlights the company’s continuing improvements it’s making to energy efficiency.

Green initiatives will also be a focus for consumable suppliers, according to Böttcher’s Hannon. He says that his company has made strenuous efforts to recycle packaging and make sure that deliveries are made on a certain date, reducing transportation of products. “Böttcher in the UK is now pushing its green recycling,” adds Hannon. “Waste containers are taken away and reused while we’ve made efforts to reduce transport and emissions.”

With so many in the paper and consumables sector making extra efforts to reduce emissions, customers will still be concerned about the perceived additional costs involved. Perhaps the biggest challenge for suppliers at Drupa will be to prove that by paying slightly more upfront for a product, the firm will reap cost savings in the long term. Suppliers suggest that this is already beginning to filter through to customers but they hope to use the exhibition to drive the message home.

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PAPER & CONSUMABLES: PAPER
GMG Proof Media
www.gmgcolour.com
Stand 8b/A11
The company will be presenting its substrate range designed for “all proofing requirements”. GMG’s papers also boast high paper tint accuracy and “excellent” drying capabilities.

James Cropper Speciality Papers
www.jamescropper.com
Stand 7/D02
A raft of products are on show, including bookbinding papers and decorative effects. James Cropper will show its Docugard anti-microbial papers incorporating BioCote, an active silver agent that gives protection against bacteria. There will also be some new colour additions to the company’s Comet range, with either a silver or bronze ‘lustre’.

M-real
www.m-real.com
Stand 6/C61
M-real will be showing its range of lightweight boards, including Simcote and Carta (see star product), as it makes a play for the packaging market. Sustainability will also be a key theme for the manufacturer and it will demonstrate how it is reducing its C02 emissions. M-real is a partner of PrintCity.

Printer-Mate Enterprise
www.printer-mate.com
Stand 7/F03
The Hong Kong-based firm will be showing its range of paper for the inkjet market. Its clear liquid laminate product features an enhanced ultraviolet resistance of images. Printer-Mate will also show its inkjet photo paper and inkjet rice paper.

Sappi Fine Paper Europe
www.sappi.com
Stand 6/B40
Products on Sappi’s stand will include sheet printing papers Tempo, Magno and HannoArt, as well as products for web printing. Also exhibited will be the manufacturer’s label, poster and special paper ranges.

Teckwin International
www.teckwin.com
Stand 3/C89-9
Based in Shanghai, Teckwin will partner with Dutch firm Tepede to present a range of media for the wide format market. PCC papers form part of its portfolio.

UPM
www.upm-kymmene.com
Stand 6/C43
UPM is part of PrintCity’s Connection of Competence expertise and is a paper supplier for several press manufacturers at the show. Its technical services division is launching a ‘printing simulator’ for training, an update to its Paper Sommelier service (see star product) and presenting iRoll Tape Solution for troubleshooting on presses.

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PAPER & CONSUMABLES: INKS
Flint Group
www.flintgrp.com
Stand 5/C38
The group will be unveiling the Novavit F950 Plus Bio and Novavit F550 ranges for sheetfed offset printing.

Inx International
www.inxinternational.com
Stand 4/C11
Inx will be unveiling a raft of new technology at Messe, including some eco-friendly options. However, one of its star launches will be Colour-Chain, a software suite designed to increase production speed, colour accuracy and quality

MetalFX
www.metal-fx.com
Stand 15/D17
MetalFX is using Drupa to mount a push into flexo printing with a new system for its metallic colour process that it says can offer results on a par with foil.

Pröll
www.proell.de
Stand 3/E51
Pröll’s range of inks includes Mirror Ink M1, a special screen printing ink for chrome effects. Also on show is the firm’s Aqua-Jet product for screen printing on plastics and PVC.

Stehlin Hostag
www.stehlinhostag.ch
Stand 3/C68
Part of the Huber Group, Stehlin Hostag will be showing its inks for the offset, flexo and gravure markets and Drupa will be the springboard for its new Inkredible range (see star product). The company will also be presenting its fountain and varnishing products.

Sun Chemical
www.sunchemical.com
Stand 6/B75
Sun is another firm that is part of PrintCity. The company will be showcasing its latest innovations ranging from its low-migration packaging products to new environmentally friendly sheetfed inks. The big themes for the group will be quality, service and innovation.

Suzhou Kingswood Printing Ink
www.szkinks.com
Stand 3/C88-10
The Chinese company will be showing its range of inks for t the offset market. Its DWA series is a “colour intensive” fast offset process ink, while for web it has a range of coldset inks.

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PAPER & CONSUMABLES: ROLLERS
Apex Group of Companies
www.apex-groupofcompanies.com
Stand 11/B25
Apex will be showing its range of flexographic and anilox rollers at Drupa. The company’s UniCorr, UniFlex and UniCoat metering rolls incorporate genetic transfer technology. For its anilox range, Apex uses Ultra Melt laser technology.

Böttcher
www.boettcher-systems.com
Stand 16/D03
The German firm will be showcasing a raft of products and will be spreading the message that by being proactive on roller maintenance, printers can save money in the long term. Böttcher will also be launching a range of new compounds.

DW Renzmann
www.dw-renzmann.de
Stand 16/D53
The German company will feature its roller washing and treatment products, including the HA and HA/S. The products are able to clean anilox rollers and anilox sleeves of all resolutions as well as gravure cylinders.

GTK-Timek Group
www.gtk.ch
Stand 12/A64
According to GTK, its range of rollers are coated with every type of expanded material, ranging from open celled to composite. The company will also showcase its rubber coated rollers and shafts.

Katsura Roller
www.katsura-roller.co.jp
Stand 12/B57
The Japanese manufacturer will be showcasing its new ink rollers: the UV-X is designed for both UV and t conventional inks while the Sigma Eco can handle various inks including vegetable.

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PAPER & CONSUMABLES: MISCELLANEOUS
Conti-Air
www.contiair.com
Stand 6/A79
On stand will be the Conti-Air Journal newspaper printing blanket with Air2 technology, which can give stability in shaft-driven presses as well as shaftless. The company is also launching its Conti-Air Stratos varnishing blanket for UV and water-based varnishes.

KSL Staubtechnik
www.ksl-staubtechnik.de
Stand 7/A30
KSL will be showing its range of anti-set-off spray powders K4, K4 plus, S5WL and L3. According to the company, the products are “very economical”.

Russell Webb
www.russell-webb.com
Stand 6/A23-3
The company will be presenting its ultra-low dust anti-set-off coated spray powder, which according to Russell Webb saves time and money. It means that a press will use between 25-55% less powders, reducing cleaning time. The company will also be showing its new range of water-based primers and pre-coatings to enable printers to print onto almost any paper, board or plastic.