Installation of the long-awaited beta press began last week at Israeli packaging printer Graphica Bezalel, which is located near to the Landa facility in Rehovot. Landa had promised that it would ship in July and it was packed for delivery on 25 July.

The firm’s press is a straight printing B1 format sheetfed S10 Nanographic model, which prints at 6,500sph. A field upgrade to the 13,000sph high-speed version will be a future option.  

Employees from Graphica Bezalel, including the firm’s third-generation owner Eyal Harpak, have been trained on how to operate the Nanography press while it was running at Landa’s facility, prior to being shipped.

The firm produces a range of packaging products including folding cartons, polypropylene and PET packaging, and in-mould labels. Its customers include Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Asda, Unilever and Nestlé.

The Landa S10 is the firm’s first digital press.  

Landa also confirmed that by the end of the year the second beta press will be installed at Minnesota point-of-sale and signage specialist Imagine!, with the third to follow at German packaging group Edelmann. The first UK installation will take place next year.

Landa initially launched its Nanographic presses at Drupa 2012 to much fanfare, but a fundamental redesign followed that resulted in the timelines for installations running years behind the schedule that had been originally envisaged. The firm’s approach differs to other manufacturers of inkjet presses, in that it uses an intermediate transfer belt rather than printing directly onto the substrate.

In a video posted to mark the first installation, Landa founder and chairman Benny Landa charts the evolution of his latest print tech and says: “That really was worth waiting for.”

"Printing will never be the same again" video by Landa Digital Printing