The visitors’ backgrounds largely determined the standpoint from which they discussed the technology. For some, the main focal point was the machine; for others, the process technology. The discussion kept coming around to the point of whether rotogravure, flexo and offset printing are to be seen as an “either/or” proposition or whether the three might one day all be used in parallel with each other.

Today it is clear that all processes have their justifications and their limits. They will complement each other and compete with each other. At one point or another, a printing job will presumably switch from one technology to another, but all processes will retain their own respective markets. However, one new and growing trend involves hybrid applications with process combinations that have to be adapted and attuned to specific products. This approach allows customers to configure an optimum production setup specially selected to meet their requirements.

The markets will show us in the future which solutions are fated to prevail. We expect to see a larger number of customized plants in the future, especially in packaging printing. There is no such thing as “THE” machine for the packaging industry, of that we are certain. Our work will focus on providing you with a modular system featuring favorable size parts to expand the range of applications for web offset presses. When combined with the integration of customer-specific units, the resulting system will be broadly adaptable.

To prevent expectations from becoming all too high, I would note that just because something is possible and doable does not necessarily mean that it is economically sensible. Run sizes, material costs, and complex web processing are all factors that set their own limits. The operational environment has to be adjusted accordingly.

Size-variable offset is a subject that opens up new perspectives, because it allows a system to be adjusted to changes in peripheral conditions affecting your customers. It also requires a careful analysis of the products on offer. Many combinations are possible, but only one is optimum. You have to specify the precise requirements you want us to meet. That way we can customize your installation to your products.

You are well aware of the frequency with which producers of brand products come up with new ideas. As a rule, they pay little attention to their suppliers’ production capabilities in the process. For example, if the labels on beverage bottles are made longer or shorter, a lot was previously printed in the signature without being able to utilize the format in full. Waste therefore increases as a matter of course. If the substrate is changed along with the printing length, the new job may be more difficult to handle with the available technology. Roll products have major advantages precisely in this situation because they can be infinitely adjusted. If you add run size to the mix, you can see why the Alprinta-V is so interesting. It offers better quality than flexo printing with lower printing costs and comparable print quality to sheet-fed printing with a broader range of possible applications as regards the substrates printable in the roll.

Parallel to the applications to which the Alprinta is geared, Muller Martini is working consistently on further developing its established lines of business. The modular system used in the Concepta has a unique status worldwide in countless applications. To address difficult business conditions, we optimize a series with regard to waste reduction, CIP link, make ready system, and costs. Press inserts in the Concept series are compatible with the Concepta modular system. Muller Martini offers an exemplary combination here of a safe investment and innovation for the customer.

I hope you are interested in our demonstrations and in talks with our experts. Take a look at the innovations in the Alprinta-V and the Concepta and feel free to discuss presses, inks, technologies and the industry at large with us. I am convinced that there is much to learn and that anyone with printer’s ink in their veins will find a lot to be enthusiastic about.

Please use this opportunity to watch a demo machine manufactured for a customer in operation under production conditions here at our factory.

Thank you so much for your interest and your visit. Have an interesting and informative stay here at our factory in Maulburg.