Walther: potential markets for the machine are growing fast

While the big draw at Heidelberg's drupa stand is its mammoth XL range, the company has been busy working on a new market in inkjet overprint for packaging.
Karl-Heinz Walthern heads up Heidelberg's special applications division and is responsible for finding a place in packaging for the company's Linoprint product – one of the few presses not on show at the stand. "Eight years ago at drupa 2000, we had an application in inkjet for the sheetfed market," he said, "but the printhead technology was not available in commercial volume.
"Around two years ago, we decided to centre all the different inkjet expertise around the company at our Keele plant. We looked at sheetfed but decided it was too fast, so focused on packaging, where the demand for high quality is increasing."

The Linoprint runs at one metre per second with resolutions up to 720dpi. It can be configured for either inline overprint or as a separate system with a feeder device, the print unit and a camera for quality control. Users can have the Linoprint configured with a number of commercially available printheads, but the rest of the system has been developed entirely at Heidelberg.

Walthern said the high resolu-tion was necessary for applications such as 2D barcodes on pharmaceutical products and personalisation, with a view to expanding into cards and CDs. "These kinds of products are asking for digital printing," he said. "But we want to print overprint. We're not interested in marking or coating." Walthern said the initial markets Heidelberg is looking at are grow-ing rapidly. (Matt Whipp)