Electronics for Imaging Inc. (EFI), Silicon Valley, Calif., USA, and Thai Containers Group (TCG) in Packaging Business SCG, Thailand, this week announced a new digital printing partnership to significantly enhance TCG’s corrugated packaging offerings. The Bangkok-based SCG Group subsidiary – one of Southeast Asia’s leading packaging providers – has purchased an EFI™ Nozomi C18000 ultra-high-speed, single-pass digital inkjet corrugated packaging press.

 

The press will be the first EFI Nozomi installation in Asia and will make TCG a regional leader in full-scale, inkjet corrugated production using one of the only digital systems in the world capable of printing up to 10,000 boards per hour.

 

EFI – the world’s leading developer of industrial LED inkjet production devices – created an innovative, single-pass, piezo grayscale inkjet writing system for the Nozomi C18000 to deliver accurate, high-fidelity color, including consistent reproduction on solid areas. A 100% in-line inspection system on the press actively manages print quality. With the wide press’s unique imaging capabilities and its ultra-high-speed throughput, TCG will gain an unprecedented ability to deliver new designs quickly and accurately – an advantage that will help the blue-chip brands TCG serves diversify their offerings and grow sales. The press is also able to match up to 97% of PANTONE® Colors to meet those brands’ stringent brand color requirements.

 

Included with the press is EFI’s Fiery® NZ-1000 high-performance digital front end (DFE), which provides world-class digital print color management tools. The DFE also provides the robust processing power needed to quickly process and feed extraordinarily large volumes of job data, including variable text and images for fully personalized applications, at full press speeds.

 

"The Nozomi press delivers on the market opportunity many had hoped for with digital printing, unleashing new design possibilities for brands looking to differentiate themselves and effectively sell to a greater number of segmented markets," said Poramate Larnroongroj, managing director of TCG. "This installation is the beginning of an important digital production initiative that TCG will expand as our customers benefit from and accelerate their targeted versioning and localization strategies."

 

TCG’s digital press, which features a six-color inkset (CMYK, orange and violet), significantly reduces the time needed to launch new product designs on a broad range of applications, including packaging the company provides for footwear and consumer product shelf-ready packaging. It also gives TCG the ability to create versioned designs for products in the many different local markets the company serves across Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia – an important but previously unfeasible application given larger prep expenses, make-ready waste and inventory costs associated with analog print.

 

Substrate versatility is a key advantage on the ultra-high-speed, single-pass inkjet press, as it can print on materials from 14-point card stock to triple-wall board, including traditional Kemi, mottled, bleach and kraft materials, at full press-rated speeds.

 

Given environmental concerns throughout the packaging industry, the press also provides an important sustainability advantage. The Western Michigan University Recycling, Paper, and Coating Pilot Plant – a leading certification organization for corrugated recycling – has certified EFI Nozomi press output for OCC recyclability and repulpability. The EFI Nozomi press is the only press to achieve that certification on its output.

 

"TCG can drive outstanding results for its customers through this partnership with one of the industry’s true breakthrough innovations – an ultra-high-speed, single-pass production platform that can handle the size, imaging, and material handling challenges that previously limited the use of digital print in the corrugated space," said José Luis Ramón Moreno, VP and GM, EFI Industrial Printing. "The Nozomi press is more than proving its value at installations in Europe and North America, and it can give TCG the power to establish a new paradigm of customization, versioning, and highly efficient corrugated packaging supply chains in Southeast Asia."

 

TCG’s new press is part of a complete ecosystem for corrugated production available from EFI, with leading-edge Genuine EFI Inks, Fiery DFE technology and an EFI Corrugated Packaging Suite  manufacturing execution system workflow. More information about advanced digital corrugated packaging production with EFI technologies is available online.