Schumacher Packaging and BHS Corrugated develop digital printing machine

Ebersdorf bei Coburg, 16 March 2021 +++

The Schumacher Packaging Group, one of the largest family-run manufacturers of corrugated and solid board packaging solutions (www.schumacher-packaging.com) has commissioned a newly developed, highly efficient digital printing machine at the Greven site; the RSR® printer (RSR®: Roll to printed Sheet in Real time) from BHS Corrugated. The printer is the result of a long-standing development partnership between Schumacher Packaging and BHS Corrugated Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH. Its high print speed of up to 300 metres per minute and the fully automated process workflow mean it can dramatically increase productivity in the manufacture of corrugated board packaging compared with traditional flexographic printing methods. Furthermore, the printing stage is upstream of the corrugated board production, significantly reducing costs associated with printing errors.

No more bottlenecks in the printing process

Up to now, printing has always limited the process speed in the further processing of corrugated board. "We have developed a way around this stumbling block," explains Björn Schumacher, CEO of the Schumacher Packaging Group. "Our new digital printer works at print speeds of between 100 and 300 metres per minute. This means there is far more capacity for the other processing steps in the chain, such as die cutting, gluing and palletising." The printing width is up to 2800 millimetres.

From the printer into the corrugator machine

Another feature of the new system is that it changes the previous process sequence: Printing happens first, then the corrugated board is produced. Both the digital printer and the corrugator machine come from the same manufacturer, BHS Corrugated Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH. This means they work in perfect harmony, especially in terms of their processing speed. Fine-tuned interfaces ensure smooth communication between the two machines as well as with the inventory management software. A fault detection system integrated in both machines makes sure that only faultless corrugated board packaging enters the subsequent stages of production. By reversing the process – printing before corrugating – the costs of rejecting potential printing errors can be significantly reduced.

No compromising on environmental standards

Sustainability and environmental protection are hugely important to Schumacher Packaging. "That's why we made clear from the very beginning of the development work that every process performed by the digital printer, from pre-coating to varnishing, would use only water-based consumables," explains Björn Schumacher. "What's more, the printing inks used comply with the Swiss Consumer Goods Ordinance (Schweizer Bedarfsgegenständeverordnung) and the Nestlé Guidance Note on Packaging Inks."

Digital printing – the future of the packaging industry

"By incorporating the RSR® Printer, we have now digitalised the entire production process in the corrugated board sector," Schumacher says proudly. "We truly believe that the future of corrugated and solid board packaging lies in digital printing. Firstly, it is the only way to meet customers' and consumers' increasingly high expectations for premium-quality designed packaging. And secondly, it makes small print runs financially viable. Not forgetting, the end-to-end automated processes have further boosted our productivity and raised the benchmark in terms of quality."