The extension of the relationship, which already stretches back over eight years, took place with effect from 1 November following discussions during a meeting at Drupa earlier this year.

As in the past, a significant focus will be placed on the provision of inline coating starter kits for all new Rapida presses.

The agreement also covers quality assurance, joint R&D initiatives and combined marketing activities, such as presentations in the context of trade shows, user events, and print demonstrations, as well as the production of print samples.

The two companies said that many of the agreed activities and measures aimed to provide direct benefits for the users.

Actega coatings are also constantly in use in the press demo centre operated by Koenig & Bauer and are presented during customer events.

This enables ongoing quality control processes and the continued optimisation of the products for use on the manufacturer’s high-performance sheetfed offset presses.

High quality visual and haptic effects are being produced more frequently on Rapida presses with corresponding inline coating facilities, with further new effects and coating qualities “certain to follow”, according to the Koenig & Bauer.

Jan Franz Allerkamp, head of the business line Paper & Board at Actega, said: “Extending the partnership agreement allows us to continue our successful cooperation. Together, we are defining future standards in terms of production speeds and finishing options for high-quality packaging and other print products."

Dirk Winkler, head of process and print technology and product management at Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed, added: “Our cooperation with Actega has allowed us to advance the development of a whole series of finishing technologies over the past years. I am already looking forward to continuing this process, which benefits our users directly.”