The Institute for Printing Presses and Printing Methods (IDD) at Darmstadt University of Technology and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) are extending their joint research platform till 2012. The two partners have been working on the ‘functional printing’ development project since 2007.
The main objective of the project is to develop new applications for the print media industry. This involves devising new surface-finishing technologies that enable print shops – and packaging printers in particular – to stand out from the crowd.
Heidelberg head of research and development Manfred Jurkewitz stated that their motivation is based on developing a feel for what the market of the future needs and investigating this using feasibility studies.
Research work is currently devoted to new applications for the print media industry. The first examples are promising and include innovative new effects with structural coating and special optical effects in 3D.
IDD director professor Edgar Dorsam stated that they are looking to develop further visual effects and applications that lie between the print applications of today and organic electronics applications of the future.
Heidelberg is providing the relevant printing technology for the cooperation project – a Gallus RCS 330-HD rotary press. The press is tailored to development needs and has been configured accordingly. It has four printing stations and four printing processes – flexographic, screen, offset, and gravure.