This year’s LabelExpo made abundantly clear that package printing is a strongly growing market. Even on the first day more visitors came than in previous years. Muller Martini also benefited from the great interest displayed by show visitors. “Our stand was very well attended on all four days and we made a lot of new contacts," said Andreas Hitzler, head of marketing and sales at Muller Martini Printing Presses GmbH.

 
Expert presentation on EB drying attracts large audience
The expert presentation given by Bernd Schopferer titled “Web Offset Printing with EB Drying” in the Package Printing Zone was also well attended. The product and marketing manager of Muller Martini Printing Presses GmbH reported on the many benefits of electron-beam hardening (EB drying) for package printing. “EB drying is especially well suited to foodstuff packaging, since the ink film is immediately hardened all the way through,” Schopferer said. “The result is a high-quality, low-odor and low-migration print product, manufactured under reliable production conditions, without the use of photoinitiators or the emission of pollutants.”

Muller Martini also provided information about the printing of safe food packaging using electron-beam hardening at the exhibition stand of ink manufacturer Sun Chemical. The stand showcased industrially manufactured packaging that had been printed on VSOP printing presses by combining offset and flexo printing techniques. The printing inks on these items were hardened by means of electron beams.

It came as little surprise therefore that this year the interest of many LabelExpo visitors was focused on the printing of flexible packaging (especially food packaging), rather than on labels first and foremost. Muller Martini used its VSOP (Variable Sleeve Offset Printing) press to demonstrate great benefits for package printing. The print products which Muller Martini produced specifically for LabelExpo were sought after by visitors and not just for their content.