Usually held every two years in Lucerne, a city in central Switzerland, under the motto ‘Next Level Automation’ this year’s show will bring together the biggest names in continuous-feed inkjet printing, high-speed finishing, and many others whose products contribute to an automated workflow.

Some manufacturers have chosen to use the show for product launches or show debuts, while others will outline the potential of the technology, which has continued to advance in the four years since the last show in 2019.

The event will take place at Messe Lucerne from Monday to Thursday (27 February to 2 March) and registration is open at: innovationdays.com/en.

Among the circa-100 exhibitors are major names including HP, Fujifilm, Bluecrest, Duplo International, Hybrid Software and the recently-rescued Crown Van Gelder, while confirmed details from a raft of others are outlined below.

Bowe Systec will show the highly automated Fusion Speed inserting system – the fastest and most efficient model in the Fusion Series with an output of up to 30,000 envelopes per hour. Lucerne will also be the venue for the Fusion Speed’s first ever live demonstration at a trade show in combination with the new BOXIT system for automatic filling of postal trays.

Burgo Group will show its new EVO range papers for high-speed inkjet printing, available in different finishes and in a grammage range from 65 to 200gsm.

Canon Europe will show three digital presses producing a range of applications: the ProStream web-fed inkjet press, the varioPrint iX sheetfed inkjet press, and the imagePress V1000 sheetfed toner press. A selection of applications produced on Canon ColorStream web-fed inkjet presses will also be on display.

Contiweb will be running live demonstrations of its Digital Fluid Applicator (DFA) for remoistening, with its team on hand to explain the technology to visitors and about how to avoid issues and increasingly automate processes. It will also focus on its Variable Coater (VC) for post-coating, which enables printers to vary the coating layer thickness and web width without changing components like the rollers and the sleeves.

Enfocus is teaming up with pre-press specialist Impressed to exhibit its suite of automation products. It said visitors will be able to experience the simple integration of multiple systems into a single seamless workflow.

Horizon will showcase several different solutions that will all be connected to iCE LiNK, its cloud-based machine and workflow management system. These include a smart binding system offering dynamic hard cover book block and soft cover book production. The roll-to-book system features its new ESF-1000 end sheet feeder, GF-500 gauze feeder, and the HT-300 three-way trimmer. The iCE StitchLiner Mark V roll-to-booklet saddle-stitcher, which utilises the continuous feeding of Hunkeler’s unwinder and cutter to achieve a production speed of 6,000 booklets an hour, will also be on show. As will Horizon's roll-to-book system that features its perfect binder equipped with the new LBF-500 loose sheet book block feeder to achieve inline integration with Hunkeler cut and stack technology. A roll-to-fold offering enabling users to produce direct mail applications from digitally printed rolls, which features Horizon's buckle folder integrated with Hunkeler web processing technology, will also be on its booth.

Hunkeler itself will introduce the new Starbook Plowfolder book solution as part of its Digital Web Finishing brand. Features include faster, automated quick changeover, and higher productivity. It will also show the new Sheet Cutter in its DocuTrim product that allows users to process sheets up to the size of B2+. Also on show, the new Book Sorting Module BSM is the first module in the Smart Logistics Solutions brand. This enables users to sort pre-glued book blocks from various Hunkeler systems based on different customer defined criteria.

KAMA will be showing live demos of converting and high-quality embellishment in digital printing. The Servo generation of the ProCut 76 Foil with advanced features and high automation will be running at its booth, the machine covering a range of applications from die-cutting, creasing, and perforating to embellishment with hot foil, hologram, and relief embossing.

Kodak will showcase the recently launched Prosper Ultra 520 inkjet web press for the first time in Europe. It will present a roll-to-roll configuration in which the press is integrated with a Hunkeler UW8 unwinder and RW8 rewinder along with the Hunkeler WI8 web inspection system via its open architecture interface.

Kyocera will show its first inkjet production printer, the TASKalfa Pro 15000c, an SRA3-format sheetfed four-colour machine with a top speed of 150 A4 ppm.

Mondi will see several brands of its extensive high-speed inkjet paper portfolio printed live at the Kyocera booth on the TASKalfa Pro 15000c, including the digital colour printing paper Color Copy original; the specially treated, smooth and silky high-speed inkjet paper Neujet silk; and the totally chlorine free paper Bio Top 3.

Muller Martini will be presenting a world-first with its highly automated Prinova Digital saddle-stitcher. The Vareo Pro perfect binding line with numerous further developments will also be on show.

OneVision is inviting visitors to join the ‘Road to Automation’ at its booth, where it will provide insights into how ‘Next Level Automation’ can be achieved through an intelligent and integrated software platform that interacts with upstream and downstream systems.

Plockmatic Group will use the show to launch the new SC6000 – a larger-format version of its digital die-cutting system, with an expanded size capability of 340x710mm allowing it to handle significantly longer printed substrates. The unit will be released for sale by both Morgana Systems and Intec Printing Solutions at the show. The SC6000 requires no physical cutting dies or setup costs and is targeted at busy printers seeking an affordable, high-capacity device capable of completely unattended cutting production.

Ricoh will show its Pro VC70000e continuous feed inkjet press in public for the first time anywhere in the world. Also with its first time on display in public globally will be Ricoh’s latest production workflow technology, Ricoh TotalFlow Producer, which has been developed to resolve the main workflow challenges around print job intake and preparation. TotalFlow Producer funnels print jobs from multiple submission methods into a consolidated cloud-native location and provides the ability to view and edit jobs “all in an easy to use, cost effective, and error-reducing solution that is completely vendor agnostic for seamless integration into existing client environments”.

Scodix will showcase its Ultra 6000 Press powered by Smart High Definition (SHD) for the first time in Europe. The focus at Hunkeler will be “embellishment solutions on offset B1 and B2 sheet formats demonstrating the economics and productivity to replace analogue embellishment technology, whilst offering publishers greater flexibility to enhance a wide variety of book covers from paperback books to high-end book jackets”. The SHD technology is said to offer a breakthrough in high-definition, finest clarity, and delicate detailing for eye catching results.

Screen Europe will exhibit the Truepress Jet520HD+, which uses Screen’s newest generation SC+ ink, as well as its new Truepress PAC 520P, a high-speed, water-based inkjet digital press developed for flexible packaging. The machine uses proprietary water-based pigment inks that comply with appropriate food-safety regulations.

Solimar Systems will demonstrate how its workflow-enhancing products streamline production printing, finishing, mailing, e-delivery, and document archiving – benefitting production sites with efficient automation and file optimisation. It will be supporting its partners HP and Screen at the event.

Xeikon will host the first public showing of its Sirius dry toner technology. Visitors will be able to experience the manufacturer’s Book Production Solution in action demonstrating three high-end applications, including a coffee table travel book, a full-colour tourist guide, and a highly illustrated book on architecture. The single-pass, duplex Xeikon SX30000 roll-fed press will be running live in line with a Hunkeler Gen8 roll-to-stack system producing book blocks which will be bound on an offline Muller Martini Vareo Pro with Infinitrim.

Xerox will showcase its end-to-end Production Eco System with everything from feeding and finishing to digital printers Baltoro and Iridesse. Its booth will also feature its automation workflows, the new FreeFlow Vision with Predictive Analytics, CareAR Assist Service Management Software, and XMPie’s e-commerce, campaign management, variable data publishing, and cross media publishing capabilities that help printers improve the quality of their output, decrease turnaround times, and reduce cost to better serve customers and differentiate their business.

Printweek will cover more of the key news being saved by exhibitors for the show online next week while a full analysis of the trends and developments will follow in the April/May issue of the magazine.