manroland Web Systems has identified Hucais Group as the Chinese customer for which it is providing multiple digital finishing systems.

A first FormerLine book block solution for Hucais will be followed by additional systems “in the next two years”.

Hucais is a specialist in sheetfed packaging printing which has expanded into digital printing. manroland it worked closely to meet defined requirements and business models for digital printing, with Hucais deciding on FormerLine system as a digital finishing solution for its letterpress production.
The system – which is capable of “infinitely variable” cut-offs from 145 mm to 420 mm – will be customized to meet specific needs based on Hucais’ book production estimates. It will be teamed with Rima RS 34 book block stackers and capable of stapled signatures or up to 6000 auxiliary-glued book blocks an hour with a thickness of up to 70 mm.

Depending on project requirements, Hucais will be able to set up web travel over two or three formers, making it possible to produce four to eight pages or eight- to 16-page products.

The first production lines will be delivered to Hucais for the offline finishing of preprinted reels. Later, equipment configurations will also be provided for inline production.

A spokesman says “in keeping with the preferences of the Middle Kingdom”, the FormerLine is fast, flexible, and productive. Systems are designed for web speeds of up to 300 m/min. With a variable cutoff, the maximum web width is currently 1067 mm in the version with three formers. High efficiency achieved through minimal changeover times both for format and paper changes was a key selling point for Hucais.
Hucais has printing sites throughout China, setting benchmarks in high-end packaging printing from cosmetics and beverages to cigarettes.

Developing and implementing packaging according to clients’ specific preferences is a central part of the company’s philosophy. This level of flexibility and innovativeness is what chief executive Chen Chengwen wants to carry over into digital printing production. “We have established digital printing in our company in recent years, starting from our status as a successful packaging printer,” he says.

“Now we need to keep pressing forward with new developments, and that includes smart and future-oriented investments. Digital presses and the FormerLine system allow us to supply our customers with high-quality printed materials. We remain flexible, and can produce efficiently even in smaller runs.”

manroland Web Systems managing director Eckhard Hoerner Marass says he is “pleased with the level of mutual trust” in the project, which also lets manroland make a clear statement in the market.

“We want to use this project to prove how economical it is to produce with the FormerLine system. The objective is to win over further potential customers. In digital finishing, we provide a highly refined alternative that is hard to pass over,” he says.