Orora is currently trialling the white ink capabilities on the EFI Nozomi press, as the first company worldwide to do so.
The single-pass, digital corrugated press was launched by EFI in 2017, with early adopters discussing their use of the press at EFI Connect 2018.
One year later, white ink capabilities have been introduced at the Orora site in Oakleigh, with Scott Mayer, general manager, Orora Specialty Packaging, “We have the had the white ink hardware installed for two weeks, and have had a number of upgrades to the Nozomi.
“We have only completed a couple of test prints at this point, but it has been promising, with exciting results so far. We are almost a beta-test site for the white, it is the only installation in a print site worldwide. EFI has trialled it at its Spain site.
“We are hoping to run a range of test prints in the New Year to validate that offering, and determine our offering to the market with it.
“When we purchased the Nozomi, we agreed to partner with EFI to develop the white when it became available. We have been anticipating it since the original installation. The press has been running since May.
“We had 500 customers attend our expo launching it in May, with customers showing interest in the white when it was mentioned at the time.
“We are thrilled with the capability of the Nozomi, and the print quality on corrugated board. It has exceeded our expectations, and having the machine operating at this stage, and ramping up over the last six-months, we are meeting our expectations in terms of volume on the machine.
“A lot of our focus has been on getting the right image quality on our substrates, but it has exceeded our expectations. We have also needed to change the infrastructure around the machine, including automation to keep up with its throughput.
“We have installed a conveyor system to take pallets off the machine automatically, and another machine which inverts the pallet.
“We are installing a pre-sheeter, providing a similar level of automation to feed the press.
“We installed the white for two reasons: to further enhance the image quality, as images will look better printed on white, but also want to be able to offer photographic quality images on recycled paper, on corrugated boxes. It gives a brilliant, stand out graphic on a brown box.
“This is a key plank in our innovation strategy, which we showcased at the Expo, and we are really thrilled to be exploring ongoing developments on the Nozomi.”
Andy Yarrow, director, Asia Pacific, EFI, says, “A lot of customers have preordered white. It allows for a different approach, you print white then CMYK, so for regular corrugated board you can get different full-colour images.
“It also gives you the ability to put photographic images on a piece of corrugated board.
“With better colour accuracy comes better brand recognition, meaning printers can get corporate images right.
“The white underlay helps keep the colours consistent.
“With EFI Fiery, and the white ink, managing Pantone colours is made easier, adding to the positive work that Orora doing.
“It also gives savings to customers that previously had to print a white liner to get their colours correct.”
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