The Digital Expert 340, an inkjet printer capable of 65m/min as standard, or 100m/min as an upgraded version, offers printers the choice to incorporate a flexo unit.

The machine, printing at 1,200x1,200dpi, will be available from January 2024 in the UK, as Bobst rolls out its release through Europe, America and Mexico, before targeting other regions.

The Digital Expert 340 will be positioned to compete in price with mid-range roll-to-roll UV inkjet machines, Bobst said.

It is available in four-colour with white channel, or in six-plus-white configurations.

Bobst said it was aiming the launch at a broad tranche of the market, with hopes to attract customers new to digital printing, those replacing an existing press, or who have capacity on existing finishing equipment.

Showcased alongside the Digital Expert was the Digital Master series’ new hardware upgrade, a high-speed white printing module.

Designed for high-opacity printing – and achieving up to 72% opacity at 100m/min and 80% at 90m/min – the module can be retrofitted to Digital Master machines.

The manufacturer also revealed a number other developments at the Brussels event, including its introduction of an end-to-end process for linerless label applications with Avery Dennison’s ADLinrSave, targeted at the prime label market.

Bobst has also committed to release a new range of digital UV inks by early 2024. It said the inkset would be highly environmentally-friendly, without hazardous materials such as TPO photoinitiators, in anticipation of future regulatory changes.

Labelexpo Europe ran from 11-14 September in Brussels.