The one-day virtual conference, which is free to attend, will showcase how businesses can adopt connected packaging to create engaging customer experiences, gather valuable first-party data and drive increased sales. Attendees will gain insights into the evolving landscape and discover new strategies to enhance their brand’s competitiveness in our digital world.

The Global Connected Packaging Summit 2024 will feature discussions and presentations from Ivan Gonzalez, CEO at online recycling platform Recycl3r, Thomas Vollmuth, head of brand owner management at developer of print technologies Koenig and Bauer, Gavin Ger, CEO and founder at Australian technology company Laava, and Mohamed Bassyouny, business development manager at packaging solutions supplier SIG.

Other speakers include Steve Wardle, senior manager for design operations and process at sustainable food company Kellanova, Rachel Sheldon, sustainability and innovation manager UK & IRE at sustainable plastic packaging specialist Greiner Packaging, Gregor Murray, from brand advisors Digital Commerce Global, Alice Rackley, CEO at QR code company Polytag and Katie Livesley, managing partner for digital display at customer growth agency Dentsu UK.

The speakers will share insights and expertise on key topics including QR codes, NFC, RFID, AR, AI, sustainability, reuse, innovative packaging approaches and how to effectively implement connected packaging. With more speakers to be announced in the next few weeks, attendees will also have the opportunity to network with a diverse range of industry professionals.

Last year’s event saw over 400 attendees including brands such as SIG, Kelloggs, Amazon, Tetra Pak, Danone and The PackHub. Attendees this year include Tetra Pak, Nestle, SIG, Laava, Recycl3r, Amazon and Greiner Packaging among others.

According to research from creative technology studio and conference organiser Appetite Creative in its third annual connected packaging survey released earlier this year there has been sustained interest in connected packaging over the last 12 months, with 82% of those surveyed stating they have used connected packaging, slightly more than the 81% that said so in the survey released in 2023, and considerably more than the 54% that stated this in 2022.

The conference will be presented by Jenny Stanley, managing director at Appetite Creative, who will seek to help attendees explore the value connected packaging can deliver across meaningful, unique and personalised customer engagement.

Ms Stanley commented, ‘We’re pleased to once again host the Global Connected Packaging Summit, and to welcome a wide range of experts to share their invaluable perspectives on the future of connected packaging and its impact on consumer engagement and brand experiences.

‘Our recent research shows the perceived value of data collection through connected packaging rising, especially in the context of the imminent demise of third-party cookie data. I’m looking forward to uncovering new ways brands can tap into this evolving technology.’

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An existing Koenig & Bauer offset customer, Grafica Veneta started its digital printing journey with covers produced first on a Fujifilm JetPress 720S, replaced by a 750S model in 2021 . The RotaJet, which was installed in the company’s Trebaseleghe facility near Venice in the autumn of 2022, has been matched by a similar unit at Lake Book Manufacturing near Chicago, Illinois, US, installed in early 2023. Lake Book was acquired by Grafica Veneta in 2021 and the investment in digital print capacity there is seen as key to expansion in the US market

Both RotaJet installations support 1/1 production on a 1300mm web, with paper handling via Koenig & Bauer’s Pastomat reel stand and Patras M reel logistics system; front-to-back register is effected via two central cylinders and fine-tuned hot air and IR dryers enable printing on light papers. They feed into automated finishing lines that produce finished books in a single workflow. The reel-to-finished book time is said to be under one minute.

‘The press has been in full production since autumn 2022 and will have a lasting impact on the book printing market,’ says company owner Fabio Franceschi. ‘Our long-standing and trustful partnership with Koenig & Bauer is now growing to include digital printing. The RotaJet offers us and our customers a whole host of new opportunities in many areas. Thanks to the digital capabilities of this press, we can also print smaller jobs more efficiently and in top quality, and that will enable us to react quickly to changing market demands.’

The RotaJet presses can handle a range of materials and weights, from tissue paper to board, with applications from leaflet to folding cartons, coffee bags and wall decor, the latter supported by a cut-off length of over 5m. Christoph Müller, CEO Segment Digital & Webfed at Koenig & Bauer, commented, ‘This project demonstrates that our high-performance RotaJet digital press is able to print a wide variety of products on almost all substrates.’

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His role is to expand the market presence of the company’s digital printing press RotaJet in the packaging, decor and book printing segments. At the same time, Mr Zimmermann plans to further consolidate business relationships with commercial and newspaper printers.

Mr Zimmermann worked for KraussMaffei Technologies, a manufacturer of machinery for the plastics industry, for the past 10 years. He joined the company as area sales manager for Asia and was appointed product and sales manager for composite fibre and surface technologies for reaction process machinery in 2014.

In 2018, he became the head of the business unit that manufactures special machines for lightweight construction and high-end surface technologies, as well as process and system solutions for the manufacturing of industrial components using polyurethane and other reactive materials. For the past two years, Mr Zimmermann was responsible for the global sales of reaction process machinery.

Stefan Segger, previously vice president of sales for the business unit, will in future focus entirely on webfed digital printing.

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Interprint has expanded its product range by deploying Agfa’s water-based pigmented inkjet ink set on two of its Koenig & Bauer RotaJet presses.

The company, which specialises in printing décor paper, recently invested in a third RotaJet system, its second one from the latest generation. Both of these models are now utilising the same Agfa ink set. 

The cooperation between the three parties has made it possible for Interprint to expand its digital printing range using laminates. The ‘consistent and interchangeable’ prints available on both lines means that the company can roll out a ‘wide variety of designs,’ from the early sampling phase right to the full production.

‘We are excited to be able to show full flexibility in designs thanks to digital décor printing,’ commented Interprint managing director Robert Bierfreund. ‘The cooperation with Agfa and Koenig & Bauer during the start-up phase of the RotaJet lines has been very professional and resulted in a consistent print process that enables us to serve our customers with a huge freedom of design choices and superior print quality.’

Koenig & Bauer and Agfa say that they cooperated closely in order to validate the performance of the Agfa ink set for use with the RotaJet print solution. Christoph Müller, a member of the management board of Koenig & Bauer explained, ‘Koenig & Bauer extensively tested the Agfa ink set on the RotaJet print solution at its Customer Technology Centre in Würzburg. The fine-tuning of ink to the print system was managed carefully by both parties. This has resulted in the RotaJet running in a very controlled manner, delivering excellent image quality and overall performance.’

Tom Cloots, Agfa’s director of industrial inkjet, added, ‘Agfa is committed to the laminate industry, with many years of R&D invested in inks for this industry, and has recently built a new dedicated ink production plant. We have a long tradition of handling pigments and have built strong expertise on how to disperse them in a water-based ink carrier. Agfa technology enables the consistent production of inkjet inks with a very wide color gamut – a key element of the overall ink performance – yet a low ink consumption.’

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Mr Pang started his career in printing with book printer Butler & Tanner, rising from apprentice to director before joining Koenig & Bauer. He has represented the company at the trade association since 2013.

‘Koenig & Bauer benefits from many aspects of Picon, including the industry events, networking, focus groups, training, access to HR and legal support and the exchange of information,’ said Mr Pang. ‘I want to be able to support Picon and the industry moving forward and joining the Council will help me to do that.

‘I would like to see Picon continue to support ‘new blood’  and to promote the printing industry as an exciting and resilient industry. The pandemic has shown just how dependent the world is on our industry. Picon is also well placed to help strengthen the overall professionalism of our industry by continuing to offer a broad range of seminars and focus groups to support business managers’ growth and development.’

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drupa had been scheduled to take place in June 2020 but was postponed and rescheduled to April 2021. A host of big-name vendors – including almost all of the digital press manufacturers – then pulled out of the rearranged event, citing ongoing public health concerns as well as revised new product development and marketing activities brought about by the pandemic. Messe Düsseldorf responded by shortening the show to nine days and sought to reassure the industry about its health and safety protocols.

Erhard Wienkamp, COO at Messe Düsseldorf, commented, ‘The pandemic has caused a great deal of uncertainty among exhibitors and visitors in terms of their attendance at drupa 2021. Travel restrictions and budget constraints have further exacerbated the situation in the printing industry. We have taken this decision in consultation with our partners, who are entirely supportive of it. It was preceded by a detailed process of considering the current conditions and the needs of the industry.’

Mr Wienkamp continued, ‘Today’s decision to cancel drupa 2021 and present it in a different format has been an event- and industry-specific one. Messe Düsseldorf remains in close contact with the authorities and its partners of all other events, and we will evaluate the circumstances in a timely manner to take the responsible decision.’

In place of an in-person event, Messe Düsseldorf will now host a four-day ‘Virtual drupa’. This follows on from the online drupa Preview that was introduced in October of this year.

Sabine Geldermann, drupa director and project director, print technologies at Messe Düsseldorf, said, ‘Our primary goal remains to support the industry in any way we can to keep in contact at a national and international level, further develop their network and generate leads. To this end, we will be holding an interim event from 20–23 April, providing our exhibitors and visitors with an additional sales channel and allowing them to make reliable plans.’

Having previously confirmed his company’s intent to participate at a drupa in 2021, Claus Bolza-Schünemann, chairman at Koenig & Bauer, and also the current drupa president, commented, ‘A virtual event is exactly the right format in the current time. Attending drupa under the usual parameters was just too great a risk for many exhibitors, given declining export and turnover figures, as well as significant travel restrictions, which would also affect visitors. The new digital forum is a virtual platform, providing a reliable pillar and an opportunity to maintain valuable communications within the industry until 2024.’

drupa 2024 is scheduled for 28 May to 7 June 2024.

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Targeting folding carton applications, the VariJet 106 is a B1 6000sph press that integrates Durst’s inkjet expertise with the offset printing know-how of Koenig & Bauer and its Rapida 106 press platform, and includes inline finishing. The VariJet 106 was expected to be a major attraction at this year’s drupa.

News of the beta roadmap for VariJet  106 follows on from Koenig & Bauer confirming its intent to exhibit at a drupa in 2021 in the wake of a growing contingent of manufacturers choosing to cancel their participation at the event. This has included Heidelberg, Bobst and Komori, although Eagle Systems, Kama and Windmöller & Hölscher have stated they will exhibit at drupa 2021.

Robert Stabler, managing director at Koenig & Bauer Durst, said, ‘We’re really excited by the opportunities and progress with our much-anticipated VariJet 106. We have a number of existing customers that would like to be beta sites, and we plan to show them the press after the summer.

‘The customer we choose will have a vision for mass customisation and be a good partner for a beta site. Feedback from our customers is that shorter run lengths, mass customisation and the need to be more agile are the compelling reasons for moving to digital production.’ 

Koenig & Bauer Durst has also upgraded its single-pass corrugated presses, the Delta SPC 130 and CorruJet 170. This includes a digital priming unit to broaden the applications of Delta SPC 130 machines and special colours to help converters meet brand colour requirements. CorruJET 170 has undergone successful beta testing in Germany.

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In a brief statement issued to press, group managing director Rafael Peñuela-Torres, said, ‘Exhibiting at drupa, or any other trade fair for that matter, makes absolutely no sense during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

‘…[sic] it is regrettable, as we would have been exhibiting with live demonstrations of both our recently launched Roland 900 Evolution press and the new Roland 700 Evolution Elite, but unfortunately it is just not practicable in the current circumstances. Instead we will be holding a series of live webinars in the autumn”.

This contrasts with the view taken by Koenig & Bauer, which last week reaffirmed its commitment to the rescheduled trade show hot on the heels of the Heidelberg announcement, though as its CEO, Claus Bolza-Schünemann, is also drupa president, this might be expected.

So far the only major digital press manufacturer to withdraw its support is Xerox, which announced its decision in April.

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Mr Bolza-Schünemann has spent 28 years with the company, including nine years as CEO and President. Mr Pleßke, whose appointment means Koenig & Bauer has once again filled its top board position from within its own ranks, will remain in the position until the end of 2025

‘The leadership of Claus Bolza-Schünemann, the great-great-great-grandson of the company founder, has allowed the management team at Koenig & Bauer to develop and implement far-sighted strategies. He has guided the company with foresight and sound judgement, also bringing it through times of uncertainty,’ said Raimund Klinkner, chairman of the supervisory board of Koenig & Bauer.

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The company, based in Arnsberg, has been a member of the Toppan Group since 2019. It expects the new press to enter production in the first half of 2021.

‘We are convinced that the future belongs to digital,’ explained Interprint managing director Robert Bierfreund. ‘With the digital printing technology offered by Koenig & Bauer, we can both accelerate product development and extend our design flexibility. For our customers, variable job volumes, longer repeat lengths and previously impossible colour combinations are becoming ever more important.’

This is Instaprint’s third RotaJet, with the second only having been installed toward the end of 2019. The latest purchase will allow the firm to process web widths up to 225cm.

Koenig & Bauer executive board member Christoph Müller said, ‘We view it as a sign of particular appreciation for our work when Koenig & Bauer is not only successful with new customers for its digital presses, but also convinces companies like Interprint, the pioneer of industrial single-pass inkjet printing in the decor industry, to return for a further RotaJet investment.’

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