EFI Announces New Nozomi Print Capabilities

was highlighting its complete portfolio of advanced corrugated packaging production technologies at last week's All4Pack tradeshow in Paris, including the launch of new print modes for the EFI Nozomi C18000 – the ultra-high-speed, single-pass inkjet corrugated board press with high-graphic, direct-to-board digital printing. EFI's exhibit highlighted the complete EFI portfolio of print and workflow solutions for advanced, integrated and automated corrugated production.

"EFI's new print modes for Nozomi and our new white ink further strengthen our overall portfolio for efficient corrugated production with the industry's best digital print engine and packaging workflow solutions," said José Luis Ramón Moreno, vice president and general manager, EFI Industrial Printing.

Corrugated packaging workflow products on display include EFI Corrugated Packaging Suite business and production software, and EFI Escada, a product in the Suite that helps packaging companies maximise the potential of their operation, from corrugator and process control to full traceability and reporting.

While the Nozomi press prints in up to six colours (CMYK, orange and violet), it now includes a newly available white ink option that significantly increases users' capabilities.
With the white ink, packaging converters can create impressive photographic images and vivid colours directly on brown kraft board liner. The high-end, powerful EFI Fiery NZ 1000 digital front end (DFE) driving the Nozomi press simplifies the process of creating spot or flood white layers for print jobs.

In addition, the press now offers three new modes to optimise printing capabilities and ink consumption:
PHOTO mode allows matching of up to 97% of PANTONE Colors in six colours with no ink consumption limit – an ideal feature for printing corrugated display materials where saturation and vivid colours are key.
POP mode reduces the colour gamut slightly, without a significant difference in the final appearance, and is ideal for photographic printing where ink saving is an important criterion.
ECO mode works with a restricted colour range and the lowest possible ink consumption. It is intended for printing packaging where lower cost is a critical factor. Even when using uncoated boards and simple graphics, it is possible to achieve significant ink saving with excellent print results.

The new print modes help customers address a wider range of production needs. Not only can users leverage the high-end quality that recently earned the Nozomi press Product of the Year honours for single-pass inkjet devices from industry association SGIA, but they also can cost-effectively take digital production beyond premium shelf-ready packaging and display applications by economically producing less-sophisticated colour designs.

Full-scale digital corrugated packaging production on the Nozomi press gives packaging companies and brands a new opportunity to cost-effectively create unlimited versions, small production batches, and even jobs where every package differs from the others. Packaging is a key element in brand positioning for the growing online shopping market, and, for that segment, the Nozomi press gives e-tailers the power to include images relevant to the recipient and/or the product(s) contained in the box, and even include special, targeted offers right on the box.

The press' Fiery DFE efficiently processes the large amounts of variable data needed to make these applications a reality. And, as the digital production opportunity expands the number of shorter-run, versioned and fully personalised jobs that packaging converters produce, the EFI ecosystem of corrugated technologies helps those customers thrive with a complete workflow that streamlines job submission, planning, order promising, accounting and more.

EFI's workflow for corrugated production, the Corrugated Packaging Suite, is an end-to-end, comprehensive software offering for box plants, sheet plants, sheet feeders and corrugated display businesses. The Suite integrates with EFI Fiery DFEs, the Nozomi press and other digital production devices.

Version 6 of the Suite on display at All4Pack includes robust shipment planning technology that optimises trailer load capacity so users can reduce both their costs and their carbon footprint. Plus, the Suite's Corrugated Business System offers robust new order-promising, back-to-front scheduling, search features and a powerful new data import tool that simplifies the process of upgrading to the Suite from legacy systems. Other enhancements include a new feature to implement universal pricing changes by customer, ship to location, sales rep, product styles, and/or board grades.

Productivity Workbench and Business Intelligence tools for the Suite simplify the process of reviewing, managing and analysing detailed production and sales data. A new integration with Esko CadX for the Suite lets users create simple European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO) styles for boxes and import existing Esko ArtiosCAD ARD files.

Plus, the Suite's industry-leading EFI Escada corrugator control technology helps users increase profitability, achieve greater efficiency and productivity, and reduce downtime and waste.

For more information on EFI products for the corrugated market, visit http://www.efi.com.