Multi Packaging Solutions (MPS) is the first pilot user of a Primefire 106, the first industrial digital printing system in B1 format, from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). The first pilot phase started back in January in cooperation with the company’s German manufacturing facility in Obersulm.
Based on the Fujifilm Inkjet Technology from the co-development partner Fujifilm and the Heidelberg Peak Performance platform, the newly designed system provides offset-like quality production with the benefits of digital printing.
‘Our customers include many well-known brand companies from industries like consumer and cosmetics. Fast, creative changes to the brand and product appearance are crucial here today to sales success. That’s why we offer these customers high-quality, flexible, and variable or personalised packaging solutions that will enable them to tap into additional business potential and set themselves apart from their competition. For this we need a reliable, industrial digital printing press like the Heidelberg Primefire 106 that can be integrated into our existing workflow,’ explained Steffen Schnizer, managing director and global head of beauty and personal care sales at MPS in Obersulm.
The image quality, reliability and the company’s long years of positive experience of working with Heidelberg in the area of offset printing were key factors in MPS’s investment decision. ‘We’re confident that Heidelberg digital technologies are the right choice for us, and we look forward to being involved in the market launch of the Primefire 106 as an early adopter,’ said Götz Schümann, managing director of MPS in Obersulm.
Primefire 106 enables packaging printers in particular to take a step in developing new areas of business, for example with the production of variable and personalised packaging or by adding traceability and security elements on each box. Printing on demand with Primefire 106 can streamline supply chain processes and reduce inventory costs. In addition, the 7-colour inkjet system enabled by Fujifilm Inkjet Technology and Heidelberg Multicolor technology covers up to 95% of the Pantone colour space, resulting in time and cost reduction when producing jobs, including special colours.
‘The start of the pilot phase according to schedule is a further milestone in the implementation of our digital strategy in cooperation with our partner Fujifilm. In MPS we’ve found the perfect company for the first Primefire 106 pilot. Our long-standing partnership, its digital business model in packaging printing, its worldwide presence, and its industrial manufacturing approach build the right environment for Primefire 106 to be tested under real life conditions. It brings us a big step closer in qualifying Primefire 106 for true production and starting to establish industrial digital printing in the market’, said Montserrat Peidro-Insa, head of digital sales and digital sheet-fed general manager at Heidelberg.
‘Digital applications in packaging printing are changing the market. Packaging will have to become more adaptable to each market segment, more relevant and more creative to attract more interest among consumers. This is exactly where we expect the Primefire 106 will bring value to our operations and the industry’, said Montserrat Peidro-Insa.
