By: Marcus Timson, Director of FM Future Ltd.
During the inaugural Future Print Virtual Summit earlier this year, attendees had the opportunity to explore the industrial factory for packaging concept as I spoke with MGI’s Chief Operating Officer, Victor Abergel, and Memjet’s Senior Vice President EMEA, Arnaud Linquette.
It’s clear that MGI and Memjet’s collaboration has been based on a shared vision for the future, a passion for R&D and innovation, and a combined focus on Industry 4.0 in graphic arts and inkjet for packaging.
It’s this vision that led to the conceptualization of the AlphaJET Factory 4.0, a disruptive innovation for the graphic industries including multiple markets and applications. Brand’s needs drive digital print adoption, particularly when it comes to packaging, and this platform is a response to a paradigm shift appearing in the packaging market that has resulted in a move towards greater fragmentation of orders, an increased need for versioning and variable data, and the rise of on-demand printing.
The modular platform is an all-in-one solution comprising CMYK water-based inkjet printing that incorporates Memjet’s DuraLink printhead technology, digital spot UV coating, digital hotfoil, and in the future will include printed electronics capabilities. See video
The results are high-end applications, primarily targeting deluxe packaging solutions across a range of vertical markets, but also suited to commercial applications such as high-quality book covers and photobooks, brochures and flyers, labels, business cards and greeting cards, and displays.
The AlphaJET Factory concept aims to reduce the notorious complexities of the conventional packaging workflow. Abergel said in the Virtual Summit presentation, “The all-in-one concept will drastically reduce the number of people, the amount of equipment, the set-up time and the time it takes to get to the final product.”
The hardware is not the only element of the Factory 4.0 concept; a complete software solution has been developed to help and support customers, with IoT technology, cloud solutions, and the ability to consolidate the expectation and the service around the technology.
The AlphaJET 4.0 solution will allow for connection and visibility between the brand owner, advertising agency, end customer, consumables, and production, as well as tracking, analytics, and smart packaging capabilities. The latter will allow users to embed a host of additional information into the packaging product.
We encourage you to stay tuned for information on access to upcoming live demonstrations of the AlphaJET Factory 4.0, on schedule for mid-to-late November at the Konica Minolta Innovation Center in Paris, France.
