In April 2018, Gallus and Heidelberg announced the completion of their full integration in North America. To highlight their commitment to the label industry and to show the combined strength of both companies with their aligned product portfolios, Gallus and Heidelberg are exhibiting together in Booth 6150 at Labelexpo Americas 2018.

At the show, Gallus’s new Smartfire digital label printing system is being unveiled to the North American market, and Heidelberg’s Omnifire 250 4D inkjet digital printer is available for demonstration. Respective market leaders in narrow-web and sheetfed offset printing, Gallus and Heidelberg now offer a complete print shop solution for label printers with reliable equipment, parts, service and consumables support – all from a single source.

Gallus’s vast portfolio includes the Labelmaster, the most cost-effective system in the industry. From the economical basic model to the fully equipped version, the Labelmaster is redefining conventional flexographic label printing; its modular design enables customers to configure the press to the needs of their business. On the digital side, Gallus’s Labelfire, an advanced hybrid inkjet system that was developed with Heidelberg and Fujifilm, is setting the standard for UV inkjet image quality with the lowest cost of production in its class. For high quality conventional flexo label production, customers can also rely on the Gallus ECS 340 for cost-effective label production and Gallus RCS 340, an extensively automated system for high-output label production.

On the offset side, Heidelberg has, for years, been a supplier to the label industry – most notably with their flagship press, the Speedmaster XL 106 with 41” sheet size, ability to print 18,000 sheets per hour, and optional UV, LE UV, and LED curing systems, which enable it to print on a variety of substrates, including synthetics. Customers can now also turn to Heidelberg’s Primefire 106, the first commercially available industrial inkjet digital printing system in the 70 x 100 (40”) format. Printed labels can be finished with the Heidelberg portfolio, which includes POLAR cutters and a variety of die cutters from Masterwork.

All Gallus-Heidelberg customers benefit from the specialist industry expertise of both companies along with Heidelberg’s established service network and extensive parts availability.

Gallus Smartfire
“The Smartfire focuses on new target groups who are looking for a low risk, easy entry into digital label printing,” explains Michael Ring, Head of Digital Solutions at Gallus. “Incorporating Memjet technology allows us to offer an inkjet printing press that produces labels with a quality of 1600×1600 dpi – while establishing a new, low investment price point in the market.”

The Memjet water-based inks and print heads mean that labels produced by the Smartfire are eco-friendly, with a minimal ecological footprint. Virtually “plug and play,” the Smartfire uses an ordinary power outlet, needs no exhaust equipment, is extremely compact, and does not emit VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), which makes it the perfect press for any work environment.

“The name says it all, the Smartfire is absolutely easy to operate via a self-explanatory touch panel,” says Ring. With this digital press, limited prepress skills are needed to create professional CMYK 4-color inkjet labels. Addressing the shortfall of other offerings in this space, a finishing unit is integrated into the press, where labels are laminated and cut, which means the Smartfire delivers finished die cut labels in one pass, ready for shipping.

Heidelberg Omnifire – Inkjet Personalization in the Fourth Dimension
Also available for demonstration in Booth 6150 at Labelexpo Americas will be the Omnifire 250 – Heidelberg’s “4D Printer,” which combines advanced Inkjet technology with high-precision robotics. The Omnifire 250 can personalize and customize most three-dimensional products. From a wine bottle to tumbler and beyond, the Omnifire gives customers the ability to change products over within seconds — providing shorter delivery times with on-demand printing.

“We think that the Omnifire is a great fit for the label market,” said Steven Calov, Product Manager of Omnifire for Heidelberg USA. “Most label printers are already creating customized labels for a variety of consumer products – with the Omnifire, they can take this same thinking and print a customized image direct to the object in many cases.”

The Omnifire, Smartfire, and Gallus-Heidelberg integration will be discussed in full at their joint press conference, which will be held at 12:00PM Central on September 25, 2018 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. In addition to the Gallus-Heidelberg booth, CERM, a software solution provider for narrow web printers and part of the Heidelberg group, will be exhibiting at Labelexpo Americas in Booth 6580.