As a matter of fact, dry offset has been the only method available to decorate tubes, cans and cylindrical hollow bodies for ages, very likely from the end of the XIX century hence, artwork designers have acquired the skills necessary to create effects and shades which are the maximum output that can be obtained from this technology. Today market wants more.
More beauty: Superior photo-realistic quality, with an extremely accurate colour control, for a truly photographic quality output
More themes: The artworks can be developed using any possible theme, from the picture of the testimonial to a landscape. There are no limits to drawings, texts, graphs, etc.
More versions: unlike offset printing, Michelangelo KX48P can print different versions of the same artwork, with no impact on the final decoration cost.
More proactive attitude: Thanks to Michelangelo, the manufacturer is riding high, proposing to the market new and inedited characteristics. For instance, using variable data printing features, it is possible to change a portion or the whole artwork on each printed piece. Sequential numbering of the whole batch, QR codes for multimedia messages, anti-counterfeit codes, etc. are now a real feature to be sold to the brand owner.
More freedom: Cancel the production schedule constraints, no line interruptions due to decoration issues, less complex management and lower inventory costs for inks, plates, etc.
More automation: The printing software works as a spooler, so the printing queue is a queue of ready-to-run-printing jobs. That is, computer-to-can without line stopping.
More competitivity: no scrap due to lithographic printer setup adjustments and less hours per man as no decoration changeover is needed. Costs for printing films and printing plates, their storage, classification and availability completely cut out.
More saving in Energy: no traditional drying ovens, thanks to UV curable inks. All the lamps are based on LED technology, and the curing process itself cuts 90% of energy.
More simplicity: Michelangelo makes it possible to produce high quality tubes quickly, and only in the amount required. fast, cost-effective and on-demand reprint, with no stock accumulation that may soon become obsolete and may be financially demanding for the client company. It reduces the stock of products decorated in one batch and progressively delivered, reducing risk to have goods in stock with decoration mistakes.
More Flexibility: Streamlined sample production and validation processes, high-fidelity output. Sending image files is an immediate advantage because the digital print comes directly from a digital file.
More speed: Michelangelo can practically satisfy all the needs of productivity and output, being able to complete also the fastest production lines on the market. Thanks to the two available speed executions (150 ppm and 250 ppm), Michelangelo can grant all the digital benefits to any kind of installation.
More colours: the execution with 8 colours slots gives to Michelangelo the capability to print an extended gamut, able to reproduce a very large percentage of Pantone colours. Using Orange, Green and Violet, over the CMYK, allows to drastically reduce the ink consumption in all kind of artwork, making digital technology even more convenient in production costs, compared to the offset technology. As matter of fact, the costs of the digital printing are lower than offset costs.
Latest developments include an improved handling of color spaces starting from the traditional CMYK configuration. Martinenghi added white ink for creating a proper substrate to process colour in case of non-white substrate is used, for instance when transparent base coating is adopted on aerosol cans. Furthermore, Orange and green inks make possible a wider gamut, (up to +23%) reaching vivid solid colours that were impossible before.
