What does it do?
Bound to be one of the stars of Komori’s Drupa stand when it launches in June, the Impremia NS40 is a new B1-format digital sheetfed press that licenses Landa’s Nanography process.
Robert Holscher, sales director digital & finishing equipment at Komori International Europe, emphasises completely separate development to Landa’s own B1 S10 press: “I compare it to Formula One racing teams, where everyone may have the same engine, but one will drive faster because they have fine-tuned the chassis, the suspension and everything else.”
When was it launched and what’s the market?
Komori partnered with Landa and made components for Landa’s Drupa 2012 show presses as well as starting its own licensed development. An early NS40 was demonstrated at Drupa 2016. The commercial launch will be at Drupa 2020 in June.
Initially the NS40 will have a simplex configuration for the packaging market. The inline coater will run aqueous or UV fluid. An optional double delivery for pharmaceutical work will automatically detect and divert rejected sheets.
A commercial beta test site at Shinwa Manufacturing Co in Kawagoe City, close to Tokyo, was announced late last year. This has mainly been using it for POS work on board and paper, and samples will be shown at Drupa.
“We did not bring it to market in 2018 for field tests like Landa did with their S10, we spent another year on developing and improving certain items that we felt needed it,” says Holscher. “A lot of our target customer base has Komori offset machines and would like the flexibility of interchanging jobs to transfer them to the NS40. That means that print quality has to be up to par with what is coming off the Lithrone presses.”
How does it work?
Impremia NS40 uses a licensed Nanography print engine with Landa-supplied NanoInk. This is an offset process, with piezo inkjets building up the full-colour image on a silicon rubber blanket on a heated transfer belt. This evaporates water from the ink to leave a sticky resin-pigment layer that is then transferred completely to the substrate. As the belt returns through its loop it passes through a cleaning unit that removes paper dust and applies a “soapy water” that equalises the temperature and acts as a wetting solution to stop aqueous ink from beading on the hydrophobic surface on the next ink application.
This dry transfer process makes it possible to use a very wide range of paper and plastic substrates in weights from 0.06 to 0.8mm, including standard litho stocks, or uncoated and quite rough grades.
NanoInk uses minute 10-nanometre pigment particles, said to give extremely good colour saturation and gamut. “With seven colours you can get a Pantone range of 96% and with four colours it is 84%,” says Holscher.
The NS40 chassis, substrate transport and control systems are adapted from Komori’s Lithrone B1 litho press technology. The digital front-end and closed-loop colour management are adapted from Komori’s B2 Impremia IS29 UV inkjet press (developed with Konica Minolta which calls it AccurioJet KM-1). The NS40 will integrate into Komori’s KP-Connect pressroom network.
What’s the USP?
It’s a B1 digital press with the attributes of Nanography – good print quality, bright colours, respectable speed and predicted low costs per copy – plus Komori’s developments for reliability and cross-compatibility with its litho presses.
How easy is it to use?
For operators, NS40 has a lot in common with Lithrone litho presses and IS29 digital presses, says Holscher. “You don’t need to put in plates and the RIP takes care of colour management. The operator just has to find the right job, put in the paper and print.”
How productive is it?
Holscher says for quality reasons the top speed will be 6,500sph initially with fully variable data, although the engine can reach 13,000sph. “We’ve done a lot of extra development with regards to reliability, productivity, belt lifetime and so on.”
Service and support
Komori’s country offices will take care of most support, with access to specialists in the European HQ in Utrecht when needed, says Holscher. “We already have some experience with the IS29 and have built up our service organisation for digital. Komori supports the Landa S10 installations in Europe, as they ask our team to help them out.”
What will it cost?
The price isn’t being announced until Drupa, says Holscher. The NanoInk is made by Landa but will carry Komori labels. So far the lifetime of the transfer belt, its costs and ease of replacement are still being worked out, with experience at Shinwa helping.
How many have been installed?
The Shinwa beta is the only machine outside Komori’s factory. “The packaging market in Europe is different to those in Japan and the USA,” says Holscher. “To make sure that our first installation in Europe is going to be a nice one we will be giving extra support so they will get the maximum out of the machine and the shortest ramp-up time. We have an introduction team standing ready.”
SPECIFICATIONS
Print engine Nanography offset inkjet and transfer belt
Printheads Fujifilm Samba greyscale piezo, single-pass
Resolution 1,200x1,200dpi
Ink Landa NanoInk aqueous pigment
Max sheet size 750x1,050mm
Max speed 6,500sph
Colours four or six, plus inline coater (aqueous or UV)
Media thickness range 0.06 to 0.8mm
Contact Komori Europe +31 30 248 2828 www.komori.eu
ALTERNATIVES
Heidelberg Primefire 106
B1 simplex inkjet optimised for packaging, based on Heidelberg media transport with Fujifilm print engine technology and foodsafe inks. No inline finishing or embellishment options as yet.
Max sheet size 750x1,060mm
Printheads Fujifilm Samba greyscale piezo, single-pass
Max resolution 1,200x1,200dpi
Max speed 2,500sph (1,200x1,200dpi)
Colours CMYK plus orange, violet & green
Contact Heidelberg UK 020 8490 3500 www.uk.heidelberg.com
Koenig & Bauer VariJet 106
A joint venture with Durst (originally with Xerox), due for Drupa 2020 launch. Planned options include an opaque white unit, inline litho and screen printing units, cold foiling plus finishing units including grooving/perforating and die-cutting.
Print engine Inkjet
Max sheet size 750x1,060mm
Resolution 1,440dpi
Max speed Target is 8,000sph
Inks Aqueous
Colours Up to seven
Contact Koenig & Bauer 01923 819922 uk.koenig-bauer.com
Landa S10
Uses the same Nanography offset inkjet technology as the Impremia NS40, with some Komori chassis and media transport. Originally a simplex printer for packaging (S10S), there is now a perfecting commercial print option (S10P), as now operating in the UK at Bluetree.
Print engine Offset inkjet
Inks Aqueous NanoInk
Max sheet size 750x1,050mm
Max speed 6,500sph (13,000sph planned)
Colours Four or seven
Contact Landa 07551 880013 www.landanano.com
MGI AlphaJet
A B1 modular and upgradeable ‘print factory’, combining Memjet DuraLink inkjet heads and food safe aqueous inks, inline UV spot varnishing and foiling, plus planned options for inline cutting and creasing. Production model to be launched at Drupa.
Print engine Inkjet
Inks Aqueous
Format 707x1,000mm
Speed 1,800sph
Max resolution 1,600x1,600dpi
Colours Four or six
Embellishment engine UV inkjet with UV-LED curing
Foiling MGI iFoil digital hot foil
Finishing MGI inline cutting and creasing module
Contact Konica Minolta Business Solutions UK 01268 534 444 www.konicaminolta.co.uk/en-gb
USER REVIEW
“We are amazed by fully variable data printing at 6,500sph. The NS40 can go from proofing to final production, with colour matching with our offset presses. Environmental issues affect packaging and the Nanographic technology gives glossy finishes without laminating. Currently B2B is 100% of our business, we intend to expand into B2C with the NS40”
Yasunari Yamazaki President, Shinwa Manufacturing Co, Kawagoe City, Japan
