The continued evolution of digital hybrid printing was on display from May 22-23, 2019, in Elk Grove Village, IL, USA. Omet welcomed nearly 100 visitors to its North American headquarters to detail the company’s partnership with Durst, a digital printing specialist, and run live product demonstrations on the Omet XJet Powered By Durst.

Chris Baldwin, Midwest sales manager at Omet Americas, led the event, which was themed, “When Digital Meets Flexo.” Omet representatives showed attendees how Durst Tau 330 RSC digital technology drives the hybrid press, opening up new markets to customers. Baldwin was also joined by Bob McJury, VP of sales at TLF Graphics, who explained how Durst has helped his label printing business and will further establish a successful relationship with Omet.

TLF Graphics operates with digital, flexo and screen printing all under one roof, and 40% of its revenue is produced digitally. The converter runs three Durst presses: the Tau 330, the Tau RSC, and a flat-bed Durst unit. “We’ve developed a relationship in our local marketplace for speed, and our relationship with Durst has only enhanced that,” said McJury. “We bought our first Durst press off the Labelexpo show floor in 2014, and we thought that we were going to convert a lot of our existing work to digital, but what really happened was new business found us.

“The ability to print a white ink on clear in an opacity unlike anything we had ever seen was key for us,” McJury added. “Then you combine that with variable data, and these were all new things that we experienced at TLF Graphics.”

Omet maintains eight production plants and four subsidiaries across the globe, ranging from the United States and Spain to Singapore and China. During the event, Baldwin announced that Omet would be building a new, state-of-the-art production site in Molteno, Italy. The 300,000-square foot facility will be ready by the end of 2019. It will include a new demo room and R&D facility.

The Omet XJet Powered By Durst allows converters to print a wide range of materials, from unsupported films and pressure sensitive labels to tags and cartons–all in one pass. The inkjet printing capabilities provide brands the opportunity to engage in personalization, just in time printing and variable data.

“The partnership allows Omet to not only sell the XJet product line, but we will also sell the entire Tau line–which includes the standalone products,” said Baldwin. “Both companies are family-owned and privately held, and manufacture in Italy. Durst has an 83-year history with over 850 active customers, and currently there are over 4,000 presses installed worldwide.”

“Durst’s RSC press is a step up in quality and a step up in speed,” McJury noted. “It’s an incredibly impressive press, and it will run as advertised. The press runs 257 fpm–legit–at high quality, and it’s absolutely remarkable.”

In addition to Durst, representatives from a host of partners were present. During the Open House, Omet also detailed partnerships with Apex, Avery Dennison, GEW, Grafikontrol, Flexografix, Flexo Wash, Kocher + Beck, Nazdar, Rossini, RotoMetrics, Tesa, Tresu, and Vetaphone. The two label jobs were printed on Avery Dennison substrates: 2 Mil White BOPP UV Inkjet and 50 Micron Clear High Shrink PETG. Hamillroad Software’s Bellissima DMS also assisted with the jobs, enabling users to print with a higher dpi.

Omet and Durst will continue to promote their partnership at Labelexpo Europe 2019, which will take place from September 24-27 at the Brussels Expo Center in Brussels, Belgium.