Digital nano press developer Landa is expanding its production facilities, building a new 4000sqm building in Israel as it prepares for its post-drupa sales push.
Landa is targeting the packaging print market as a key sector it is intending to break into, with its single sided S10 carton printer, and its W10 flexible film printer the first offerings from the company. The company says after a decade of development it is now positioned to ramp up production. It says that it expects six Landa presses to be in Australia by 2022; two sheetfed B1 S10s, two sheetfed perfecting B1 S10s, and two webfed W10s.
It says it is investing in the new building to “meet customer demand” as it gears up for series production of its innovative technology. Naama Konor Gal, plant manager said, “Landa Digital Printing has expanded significantly over the last four years and we are planning for even more rapid growth in press installations and print volume. As a result, we are excited to be expanding our production facilities.
“We have a fantastic team leading this expansion who together have decades of experience and knowledge in production management.”
Over the last couple of years Landa has installed several beta site nano presses in the field, with four print business hosting them, located in Israel, Germany, the UK and the US.
Company chairman and digital pioneer Benny Landa launched nano technology at drupa 2012, with the promise of offset quality at offset speeds on offset stock, but with the digital benefits of no plates, no makeready, variable data on demand printing. His compelling presentation led to 400 printers signing up for the press, each handing over US$10,000 for a place in the queue.
However, since then progress has been slower than expected, as Landa attempts to put the theory of firing tiny droplets of water-based ink onto a transfer blanket at high speed into practice. Landa is funding the humongous development costs through the cash he received from the sale of Indigo to HP, and a US$300m investment by German industrialist Sussan Klatten.
Digital printing of carton has in the meantime been achieved by several other developers, including Heidelberg with its Primefire 106, and EFI with its Nozomi, one of which is at Orora in Melbourne, and the HP Indigo 30000. At drupa next June a swag of digital carton printing systems wil be launched, and new partnerships between digital developers and engineering companies are expected to show the first fruits of their labours, including KBA with Durst, and Screen with BHS.
