Labelexpo South China 2024

Labelexpo South China 2024 broke all records with over 200 exhibitors, 45 percent more than the 2020 edition. It showcased digital and conventional presses, label and packaging materials, inks and coatings, pre-press and platemaking technologies, as well as finishing and inspection equipment.

Digital technology

Labelexpo South China 2024 saw the global launch of exciting new digital/ hybrid press technologies, including a highly automated hybrid flexo-inkjet press developed jointly by Spande and General Inkjet Printing, while Zonten launched its first digital press, the ZTD-P5235.

Digital printing technology was a highlight of the show. International suppliers like HP and Epson and local suppliers like Weigang, Runtianzhi, GIP (General Inkjet Printing Technology), Pulisi, Haotian, Arojet and Zonten showcased their latest digital presses.

HP Indigo showcased an ecosystem of technologies based around its 6K Digital Press. There were also several successful users at the company’s booth, demonstrating a range of different applications using digital printing technology, such as Wellking, one of HP Indigo’s established customers in the anti-counterfeiting label segment. ‘We invested in our first HP Indigo 6600 in 2005, and in 2023, we invested in the HP Indigo 6K, thus transforming our business by combining holographic and data-driven anti-counterfeiting technology,’ says Miss Zhang, president of Wellking. 

Epson showcased its desktop digital printers and a new networking technology. The CW-C6030 is equipped with a label applicator to create an entire system for customized print and application of labels for bottled water or wine. The C7520G, combined with anti-counterfeiting software, enables prepack food manufacturers to print key information such as ingredients, origin, date and allergens on the label, and, at the same time, print anti-counterfeiting codes by linking to a secure data management server.

The show demonstrated the strength of China’s PS materials industry, with key trends including sustainability and the continued growth of thermal linerless labels

Zonten announced the debut of its ZTD-P5235 digital press, which uses Epson S3200 printheads with five colors (CMYK+W), covering about 85 percent of the Pantone color gamut. The opaque white allows printing on transparent and metallic materials.

Weigang showcased four presses, two of which were digital, the WG S350 Pro and WG S230. The WG S350 Pro digital UV inkjet press prints at speeds of up to 60m/min offering a print width of up to 350 mm. Print resolution is up to 1,200 x 600 DPI, with 900 x 600 DPI and 600 x 600 DPI also available. The WG S350 Pro uses GGS graphic software from Hybrid Software, which handles the workflow, including color management. The compact WG S230 digital press can be used both for customized printing and proofing, with a print width of up to 230 mm. The machine supports a maximum roll diameter of 700 mm, reducing the time spent on material loading and unloading. 

Haotian launched its new HGP-220/330 digital label press, which uniquely integrates both Kyocera and Xaar printheads. 

Guangdong Arojet showcased its iHEM-330 and E-C-440 inkjet presses. The iHEM-330 prints up to eight colors. A range of modules are available, including flexo coating and foil stamping. The E-C-440 is a water-based inkjet press targeted at business and commercial printing applications on materials including coated paper, newsprint, coated board and rice paper. ‘We received eight orders at the show, which was beyond our expectations,’ says Richard Liu, project manager of Guangzhou Arojet’s labels division. 

Hybrid printing technology, combining digital printing technology with traditional flexo printing, was also strongly highlighted at Labelexpo South China 2023. 

The first-time exhibitor GIP debuted its Label Modular series, developed in cooperation with flexo press specialist Spande. The Label Modular HD uses Kyocera print heads printing at a resolution of 1,200 x 1,200 DPI on a 520 mm print width. It prints in up to eight colors, CMYK+W and three spot colors. 

The Label Modular adopts a highly modular design and can be configured with a range of units, including flexo printing and coating, cold/hot stamping, die-cutting and laminating. 

‘Our Label Modular Series hybrid label printer was very popular at this exhibition, attracting the attention of domestic and foreign label customers, and we signed several orders,’ notes Huang Xuebin, CEO of GIP. The first Label Modular machine have been sold to AP Label, a Chinese label converter with a 24-year history. 

Runtianzhi showed its Orca 350 press, which prints at 1,200 x 1,200 DPI resolution at 100 m/min (328 ft/min) with seven colors (CMYKWOV). The press is configured with a flexo station for white or primer and a dedicated inkjet varnish unit for digital embellishment or spot coating. It can also be optionally configured with additional flexo, cold foil and laminating modules. 

The company also showed its mono Swift 440 duplex for book production, operating at 140 m/min speed at 1,200 x 1,200 DPI resolution. The press handles paper from 45 to 157 grams, including adhesive paper, coated paper, newsprint and other paper types. 

‘I think Labelexpo is not only a show for the label industry, but also for packaging and publishing industries,’ says Sunny Yu, vice general manager of Shenzhen Ruantianzhi. ‘That is why we also showed our book press. We finished with 14 machine orders during the three days, six for label printing and eight for book production, which is beyond our expectations.’ 

Weigang showcased its servo-driven ZJR S350 Pro Hybrid flexo/digital press which uses sleeve technology for the flexo units, all seamlessly integrated with the digital print engine, enabling one-pass 10-color printing. 

Label Source showed its Hanlabel hybrid press, which was developed in cooperation with HanGlobal. The company’s stand-alone in-line flexo press has a total installation base exceeding 400 units in the global market. The Hanlabel hybrid press can be configured with a range of modules, including flexo stations before or after the digital print unit, digital embossing/ foil stamping, auto registration and in-line inspection. 

During the show, HanGlobal signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Esko and Fiery to deliver a customized Digital Front‐End (DFE) for its LabStar series UV‐inkjet label presses

During the show, HanGlobal signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Esko and Fiery to deliver a customized Digital Front-End (DFE) for its LabStar series UV-inkjet label presses. ‘This integration will empower label converters with superior automation and color accuracy, streamlining production workflows and accelerating time to market,’ notes Hanglobal. 

Pulisi showcased its DSMART-220 and DPIM-330 digital presses. The Aobead DPIM-330F hybrid press supports web widths up to 520 mm, and hybrid options include flexo print/coating, digital cold foil, digital varnish, laminating, slitting and defect quality management. The entry-level DSMART-220 digital press offers a resolution of 1,200 x 600 DPI and printing speeds up to 60 m/min, with an optional 330 mm width. 

The standard mode is CMYK, and white is optional. ‘We have just finished the 200th installation of Aobead digital presses in countries including China, the US, Russia, Mexico, India, South Korea and Malaysia, with 35.8 percent of the installations being overseas. During this show, we received 11 orders,’ shares Song Feifei, sales director of Pulisi. 

Conventional presses 

Labelexpo South China 2024 also saw a strong representation of conventional presses, both intermittent offset and in-line flexo. 

Weigang showed its intermittent offset technology. ‘Conventional printing is still the main technology in the Chinese label industry, both offset and flexo presses, which are also our flagship products for Weigang,’ says Zhou Xiang, general manager of Weigang. 

Zonten showcased its TEBA-450 in-line flexo press, which is fully servo-driven. Modules include cold foil, silk screen, turn bar delam and relam, die cutter, slitting and sheeter. 

Omet promoted its KFlex modular press, which uses the Switch system to change between modules, allowing printers to adapt the press configuration to a range of production needs. Each print group has an independent servo drive of impression roll and plate cylinder, and the Vision-1 automatic register operates in both print and horizontal directions. The press can be configured with extended dryers for water-based inks and coatings. 

Hontec presented its modular FlexiCon servo-driven press, available in a web width of 350 mm and supporting up to 12 colors. The press features a variety of capabilities such as cold foil application, delam/relam, lamination, glue killing, double-side printing and more. It operates up to 150 m/min and is compatible with substrates ranging from 12 um films to 350 GSM paper. A standout feature is Industry 4.0 connectivity, with fully automatic operation enabled by EtherCat motion control from Beckhoff of Germany, ensuring highly accurate registration. 

Hongsheng promoted its in-line flexo press and closed three orders during the show. 

Caisheng showcased the CS-JQ350G offset press, which is capable of printing in semi-rotary mode at speeds of up to 60 m/ min and 160 m/min in full rotary mode. The press includes cold foil stamping and an inspection camera. 

Digital finishing technology 

Another key trend at Labelexpo South China was digital finishing, which included die-cutting and embellishment technology. 

Guangzhou SAPA, which specializes in hot stamping technology, showed its DMS product line designed for both flatbed and rotary applications for labels, pouches and folding cartons. Applications include Spot UV, 3D embossing, cast cure and holograms. 

Darui showcased its J3 laser die-cutter, offering a linear cutting speeds of up to 50 m/min. It also features lamination, waste removal, slitting and sheeting. The company also showed its fully automated S Series digital plotter. 

First-time exhibitor GIP debuted its Label Modular series developed in cooperation with flexo press specialist Spande

IECHO demonstrated the LCT350 laser die-cutting machine, which integrates automatic feeding, deviation correction and waste removal. The platform is suitable for different processing modes, such as roll-to-roll, roll-to-sheet and sheet-to-sheet. It will process materials, including self-adhesive labels and stickers, PP, PVC, cardboard and coated paper. 

Ningbo Vorey showcased its toner-and inkjet-based digital presses along the full range of its digital die-cutters, from the desktop model VD240P to the production version of VD3350. 

Reborn launched a new generation RBJ-Remix 3DW digital UV embellishment series. The machine is equipped with 2,000 m unwind and rewind units. The maximum printing speed is up to 55 m/min, depending on the substrate. The machine can apply tactile varnishes and Braille with fine text and lines and simulated hot stamping. Optional modules include a flexo coating unit, a digital cold foil unit, die-cutting, slitting and sheeting units. 

Denchern showed DCFM370-SUPER series die-cutting machine, which is fully servo-driven and designed as a modular unit that can be combined with flatbed screen printing, flatbed hot stamping, semi-rotary flexo, semi-rotary die-cutting and slitting units. 

Materials 

The show demonstrated the strength of China’s PS materials industry, with key trends including sustainability and the continued growth of thermal linerless labels for POS and retail applications. Materials suppliers included Fedrigoni, Antac, Youhua, Soontomax, Piaozhihua, Yupo, Likexin, Yinjinda, YG Group and Dangs. 

Fedrigoni highlighted its sustainable products, including Ri-Move PET and RF recyclable film. 

‘As China is a price-sensitive market, we focus a lot on value-adding into our products like the functionality and sustainability to help our customers to improve their competitive power, avoid vicious competition and make more profit,’ shares Choy Wai Weng, general manager APAC at Fedrigoni Self- Adhesives. 

Antac, a loyal follower of Labelexpo, promoted its thermal linerless labels for POS and retail applications. 

‘In my opinion, currently, Chinese companies are not focused on sustainability so much, or they don’t want to use such materials because of the higher price and what they see as performance 

differences with traditional materials. We are particularly promoting linerless labels to these companies,’ comments Johnson Li for Antac. 

RFID 

A key feature of Labelexpo South China was the Smart Label Trail, which focused on all aspects of the fast-growing RFID label market. CISC, CLS Auto, Hoaco, SDIOT, Dingtec, Voyantic and Zhilian Technology took part in the trail and demonstrated the entire process of RFID label manufacturing. 

Hoaco showed its RFID converting machine, including lamination, die-cutting, and rewinding and unwinding. The equipment is suitable for a wide range of applications, including alcohol, anti-counterfeit tags, e-train tickets, RFID clothing tags, RFID logistics tags, airport luggage tags and other multilayer composite RFID tags. 

Voyantic demonstrated its RFID testing and quality assurance systems. The company specializes in RAIN RFID and NFC measurement and testing equipment for tag design, application development and production. 

Xiamen SDIOT provides RFID tags and traceability management systems, focusing on supporting industries such as shoes and clothing, the book industry, warehousing and logistics and asset management. Services include label selection, antenna design, 

face label printing, adhesive selection, die cutting, personalized coding, performance inspection and data initialization to achieve a ‘one-stop’ service. 

The second day of the show featured an RFID panel discussion, which discussed the opportunities and challenges for traditional label converters exploring the RFID business. 

Other educational events included a candid panel discussion between leading label converters from China, Malaysia and India, a masterclass on PS label materials, and workshops on anti- counterfeiting and traceability label technologies.