HP and Koenig & Bauer Group (KBA) have announced that they will collaborate to develop new roll-to-roll inkjet solutions for the high-volume corrugated packaging market.
The co-developed solutions will be marketed under the HP brand and will help packaging converters increase productivity, scalability and versatility.
The corrugated package printing industry has an addressable market of US$2.5 billion (AU$2.85bn) currently according to HP, and is steadily increasing worldwide due to brand globalisation, population growth and a resurging economy.
At the same time, trends such as stock keeping unit (SKU) proliferation, micro-segmentation and shorter product lifecycles are driving demand for the shorter run lengths digital print makes possible.
“Addressing the enormous digital opportunity in the corrugated market requires best-in-class technology innovation, portfolio scale and market leadership. HP brings this unique combination as well as proven customer success and upgradability to this challenge, and together with KBA, HP can bring even greater value to high-end converters,” stated Aurelio Maruggi, vice president and general manager, Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions, HP.
“KBA has a rich heritage of developing innovative solutions that meet or exceed customers’ quality expectations,” Christoph Müller, executive vice president, Web Press Business Unit, KBA, added. “In working with HP, we will combine our complementary technological strengths to meet the needs of packaging converters.”
HP only announced its intent to enter the corrugated packaging segment with its inkjet web press technology earlier this year. Its first product, the HP High-speed Inkjet Corrugated Packaging Solution, was launched shortly after. The first customer was Obaly Morava.
