After a chequered development path, the VariJet 106 B1 inkjet press for digital carton printing has been formally unveiled by joint enterprise Koenig & Bauer Durst at an event in Germany.
Combining Koenig & Bauer’s sheet-fed offset press expertise embodied in the Rapida 106 press line with Durst printhead electronics, inkjet know-how and software, including Durst Analytics, Smartshop and Workflow, the VariJet 106 offers 5100sph seven-colour printing (CMYK plus orange, green and violet for maximum gamut and brand colour matching) with water based inks that are safe for primary food packaging.
In addition to the digital printing capability, with its benefits for short-run or personalised production and fast set-up, the VariJet 106 can be integrated with other (non-digital) modules from the Rapida platform for upstream and downstream processes such as flood coating or varnishing.
Robert Stabler, managing director of Koenig & Bauer Durst, said, ‘This world premiere marks a proud moment – and what a journey it has been! We are really excited by the progress we have made and the opportunities with our VariJet 106 despite these testing times. We have beta sites at an advanced stage of planning. These potential customers [who] already have a vision for mass customisation will be working with us in partnership.
‘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.’
The VariJet concept was introduced at drupa 2016, at which point KBA (as was) had partnered with Xerox for its development. That relationship did not yield the desired progress and had been terminated by mid-2018; in early 2019, the re-branded Koenig & Bauer announced a joint venture with Durst to complete the development and bring the VariJet 106 and other as-yet-unspecified products to market.
