INKISH.NEWS -

At PRINTING United I got the chance to talk to Aviv Ratzman from Highcon. This article, however, has no direct relation to that conversation but inspired me to write this article where the intention is more to understand why using lasers, why at all speculate about digital finishing.

If you have ever seen any of the laser-cutting solutions on the market, you can't be anything but impressed. The laser moves fast over the sheet, and all you see is the short fire when the laser insanely quickly heats the paper, and burn through the substate. The finished result looks like the most exquisite filigree that you'll know from the work of gold- and silversmiths. And yes. That is one of the applications that the makers of laser-cutting solutions deliver.

Some of the solutions in the market are intended to be used for decorative purposes and are to be compared side-by-side with digital enhancement solutions.

Laser technology was invented in the mid-sixties and are today used in many different industries. Seeing a laser cutting through steel plates is, of course, equally amazing but then again to take a concentrated beam of light with an extremely high temperature and direct it to a substrate like paper for sure makes you wonder how.

Of course, the energy needed for paper is less than on steel, but with high-energy CO2 lasers, this allows for faster processing of the sheet enabling a higher output of cut sheets.

Though laser-cutting has been around for some time, the technology keeps evolving. To avoid some of the typical artefacts, like burned edges, the companies who produce these machines deliver different solutions. When I was researching for this article, I found that the optics used to direct the lasers to the substrate are essential. I also found out that the focus of the beam, the angle, and something that came as a surprise to me, the humidity, and the temperature of the surface, is essential.

So why using lasers at all?

For the decorative purposes mentioned above the alternatives are limited. Laser-cutting also offers new options like engraving/edging. When we visited Bennett Graphics in Atlanta, we saw how they used this to give stunning results on paper.

Laser-cutting is, however, moving into an industrial scale, and this is in two different ways. With smaller and smaller print runs, and a demand for faster setup, turnaround, and more variations, the setup cost, of course, becomes more significant. A majority of the companies in the packaging industry use conventional die-forms and die-cut machines. These are still accounting for a majority of the cuttings done; however the setup cost is - well - not so expensive, but time consuming. The second reason why laser-cutters are moving industrial is that more and more brands are demanding better solutions. The "better solutions" may seem strange to some, but to have perforations in a crease may increase the value of a packaging product. Having an option to test products with different packaging material faster and with less time spent obviously also have advantages. While digital print is also entering the packaging market rapidly, the need for digital finishing solutions is a must.

Highcon is one of the pioneers in the laser-cutting field and has with ten-years history developed solutions that seems to be the front-runner in this field. At the last drupa 2016, Highcon was one of the larger exhibitors and showcasing their technology in the decorative area, they also presented their first industrial-scale solution - the Beam.

One of the things that differentiate Highcons approach to the industrial-scale packaging market is the fact that Aviv Ratzman continues to tell me. Highcon is not a 'Laser-cutting solution', but a 'Digital Finishing Solution', stressing their dedication to deliver complete solutions to the packaging segment.

Replacing the conventional die-forms for packaging requires more than the knives for the cuts. The creases are equally important. In the Highcon machines, there is a built-in 3D printer creating the creases called DARTS. The DART is a patented solution that enables the device to create crease lines during setup.

I am not aware whether other companies offer similar solutions, or this is an exclusive solution to Highcon. However, Digital Finishing is a natural step when everything else becomes digital. With equipment that can deliver industrial-scale packaging solutions, as well as decorative solutions printers who invest in Digital Finishing, must be better prepared for the future than all the ones who don't.