Direct to Substrate Proofing - the opportunity for new business!

After listening to the session from Mutoh and CGS Oris on New trends in Packaging, I wanted to find out more from Heiner Muller about CGS Oris about Direct to substrate proofing, why is there a need for this and why they chose to partner with Mutoh on this new digital machine for labels and packaging?

“So, Heiner – tell me a little about CGS Oris and this cooperation with Mutoh?

We are a 35 year old business based near Frankfurt, with offices and a dealer/distributor around the world – our core expertise is colour management and workflow. One of our core products is still paper based proofing, but this has matured into colour server technology for digital presses.

One other area we have been concentrating on since 10 years by now is proofing and prototyping for packaging. Producing proofs for packaging is of course much more challenging than commercial print. Even today there is very often still a big gap between mock up, proof and actual printed product.

Customers not only want contract-proof colour accuracy, but a proof that has the look and feel of the real product.

Prerequisites for a good proof need to be colour consistency and design. And this means we have to be confident that the digital printer can reflect this and that it can deliver that match the press one to one.

Working with Mutoh we can now give packaging companies what they always wanted: The ability to produce final quality proofs on the original substrate.

The Mutoh MJ 628 MP ( Picture Please ) using our software is set up for unattended operation and can therefore even produce short runs of digitally printed labels. The printer is using specially formulated ORIS XG inks, including white. These multi-purpose resin inks are non-toxic and eventually will be food grade proofing. The key advantage of these inks is that they can be used on most uncoated printing substrates, like, films, board or uncoated label stock.

One key application is proofing of shrink films. Apart from colours, producers need to check the correct distortion of the artwork and this can only done printing on the real sleeve material, with inks, which will not affect the shrinkability of the film. The printer comes with a motorized take-up unit, which allows night-time operation and also holds delicate media like thin film under tension. To dry the prints, the Mutoh uses a low-temperature air blade technology in addition to contact heaters. Prints are instantly dry, when they come out of the printer and can immediately be further processed. A printed sleeve for instance can be directly put over the container - very quickly with a finished product for designer or printers to check.”

Thanks Heiner….