Written by At ACHEMA 2012 from June 18 to 22 in Frankfurt, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) will be presenting two digital print solutions for use in the pharmaceutical industry. The Linoprint D and Linoprint L solutions will be on show at booth H2 in Hall 3.1. In addition, KOCH Pac-Systeme – part of the Uhlmann Group – will be displaying integration systems from the Linoprint i range at booth F25 in Hall 3.0. ACHEMA is the world’s largest event for chemical technology, process engineering, and biotechnology.
Heidelberg took over CSAT, the world market leader for integrated digital systems in the pharmaceutical industry, in 2011. The company has now completed the process of integrating CSAT products into its own digital printing portfolio. “Thanks to our Linoprint solutions for packaging printing, we are now in a position to reliably fulfill the high quality requirements of integrated print solutions for packaging lines in the pharmaceutical industry,” says Dr. Christian Compera, head of Digital Printing at Heidelberg.
Linoprint D: Resilient, high-quality 2-color printing on a range of materials
The Linoprint D digital printing system (formerly DTS12oo) prints logos, decorative elements, expiry dates, batch numbers, production data, and complete texts. In addition, tablet blister packs can be labeled individually with data matrix codes, for example. With its digital electrophotography process and a print width of between 50 and 320 mm (1.97 and 12.60 in), the system is particularly well suited for applications in the field of pharmaceutical and medical technology.
With a resolution of 1,200x 1,200 dpi, the Linoprint D also offers the optimum combination of piracy protection and track & trace. Digital full-area printing and coding with dynamic data can be used in tandem at all times, so it is no longer necessary to mix different technologies (hybrid technology). Micro lettering on the blister pack ensures each item of packaging has a clear mark that cannot be copied, thereby offering added protection against product piracy. In addition, the special toners developed in-house with highly functional additives provide even more protection against counterfeiting. These can only be used in combination with this printing system.
Thanks to two-stage fusing during the sealing processes, the printed images can withstand temperatures of up to 300°C and pressures of eight bar. All cover foils commonly used in the pharmaceutical sector can be printed, including aluminum, aluminum composites, and papers. Printing is flexible depending on the mode – whether inline before the sealing station or offline from reel to line. The Linoprint D meets the requirements of GAMP (Good Automated Manufacturing Practice) and the regulations 21 CFR Part 11 and cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practice).
Linoprint L: Digital label printing
Heidelberg offers the modular digital printing system Linoprint L (formerly iTS6oo) for full-color digital label printing. The Heidelberg Linoprint L is an inkjet drop-on-demand system for the economical printing of complex short to medium-sized label and film runs and applications with variable content. The compact and encapsulated system meets the very strictest requirements and easily fulfills the exacting quality assurance guidelines for pharmaceutical production processes and environments. Users thus have access to a solution that enables pioneering applications, such as smart labels, security printing, and traceable labels.
Linoprint i: Flexible integration and printing
The compact printing units in the Linoprint i range (formerly Linoprint Fixedline) support inkjet UV technology and enable just-in-time imprinting of variable data on a very wide range of materials. Manufacturer KOCH Pac-Systeme will be using ACHEMA to show how the units can be integrated in the KPM-200 labeling machine. This machine can be used to apply unique, easily readable, and traceable labeling to folding cartons, cardboard blanks, film blanks, blister packs, paper, and telephone and check cards.
