A MONTH before Labelexpo Europe 2019, Kalideck signed a distribution agreement with Domino’s Digital Printing Solutions division to promote and sell the Domino N610i digital inkjet label press in Southern Africa. This partnership offers label and packaging printers in the region, the opportunity to reap the benefits of using digital inkjet technology.

Celebrating Kalideck’s appointment as the distributor for Domino’s N610i inkjet label press in Southern Africa is Kevin Tucker (right), graphics manager at Kalideck and Ruud Bos, distribution manager, Europe and Africa at Domino Digital Printing Solutions.

Founded in 1978, Domino has a long history of developing and manufacturing digital inkjet technology, along with an established and trusted global reputation for providing quality, reliability and unrivalled customer support. Domino’s continued growth is underpinned by its ongoing commitment to product development and expansion into new global territories.

‘As Domino’s dedicated distribution partner in Southern Africa, we share the same customer service philosophy,’ reports Kalideck’s graphics manager, Kevin Tucker, who was one of seven distributors present on Domino’s stand at Labelexpo Europe. Kevin continues: ‘We believe there are still good opportunities available and encourage printers to make the right choice as the digital labelling and package market evolves.’

He cites the Labelexpo launch of Evalu8, a total cost of ownership (TCO) tool as a prime example of Domino complementing its 41 years’ heritage of developing proven and reliable digital inkjet printing solutions, with the provision of ‘added value’ services for customers that help them to grow their businesses.

Gin labels printed at Domino’s Labelexpo Europe stand.

Evalu8 has been developed as a simple-to-use, secure, cloud-based, TCO estimation tool to help printers determine the most efficient and cost-effective way of producing jobs, while maximising their investments and profitability. After selecting the PDF image required for printing, estimated ink usage and TCO reports are provided for the job.

A demonstration of Domino’s Evalu8 total cost of ownership estimation tool that helps printers determine the most efficient and cost-effective way of producing jobs, while maximising their investments and profitability.

Smashing the 20-minute challenge

Domino hosted four product demonstrations twice daily at its biggest and busiest-ever Labelexpo Europe stand in September 2019. One of the daily highlights was undoubtedly the ‘20-minute production efficiency challenge’. This was conducted in collaboration with AB Graphic International, combining its Digicon Series 3 converting line with a Domino N610i inkjet integration module, to create a digital hybrid label converting line. The challenge was to demonstrate in a single print, finish, slit, inspection and turret rewind process, the production of three different jobs with a total of ten SKU changes, a substrate change, three die-cut changes, foil change and varnish changes with output all produced and boxed ready for shipment in less than 20 minutes. Visitors to the stand were suitably impressed when they witnessed the completion of this challenge in just 13.5 minutes on the last day of the show!

Domino continues to see a growing trend for label converters in choosing digital hybrid solutions in response to the increased market demand for ever-shorter run lengths combined with more ‘just-in-time’ label production, the need to remove finishing bottlenecks, and reduce waste both to meet cost and sustainability targets.

Domino’s intelligent technology i-Tech WebRev web reverse function combined with AB Graphic’s Digicon 3 buffers can automatically reverse the web, enabling the end of one production job and the beginning of the next to be processed simultaneously, when executing a substrate change. During this demonstration, material waste, with the substrate change, die and varnish changes, was less than seven metres of material.

A daily highlight on the Domino stand at Labelexpo Europe was the ‘20 minute Production Efficiency Challenge’. See the delight on the faces of the Domino and ABG operators, Tom Couckuyt and Ben Gregory, when they completed this challenge in 13.5 minutes on the last day of the show!

Food packaging compliant inks

Visitors from the food and beverage sector were particularly interested in UV95, a seven-colour food packaging compliant UV digital ink set, which Domino launched at the show, for use with the N610i digital label press. ‘Domino is one of the few digital inkjet printer manufacturers with the capabilities to design, develop and manufacture its own range of inks,’ Kevin reports.

UV95 has been formulated for use within non-direct food contact applications and, under the right conditions, is migration compliant. It has been developed in line with Nestlé’s guidance on food packaging inks and is compliant with EuPIA Good Manufacturing Practices, with all materials used listed on the Swiss Ordinance for Food Packaging Inks. Most importantly, it is a non-CMR ink set and subject to migration status, UV95 can comply with the EU plastic materials and articles intended to be in contact with food regulation.

In addition to compliance, Kevin emphasises that this ink set does not compromise on reliability or other mechanical properties, providing excellent adhesion and abrasion resistance.

‘I thoroughly enjoyed attending my first Labelexpo and was very impressed with the scale of the value chain suppliers and new technologies under one roof,’ he enthuses. ‘Multiple prospective Southern African customers visited the stand to examine Domino’s product offerings and they delivered very positive feedback.’

Ruud Bos, distribution manager for Digital Printing Solutions Europe and Africa, adds: ‘Domino is committed to delivering highly productive and profitable digital printing solutions with reduced manpower and waste to label and packaging converters around the world. Labelexpo Europe provided the perfect platform for us to showcase our latest developments and this was our busiest show to date.

‘With Kalideck, we believe we’ve found the right partner to develop our digital label press business in the Southern African market. Kalideck knows this market very well and has a long-established and enviable reputation as a trusted supplier of graphical equipment and supplies. We look forward to working in partnership with the company to drive growth and sales of Domino’s digital inkjet technology in this region,’ Ruud concludes.

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