Essentially, this is a variation of the existing DM-Jetliner and uses the same inkjet imaging system. But whereas the DM-Jetliner is designed to run inline – mainly with a HP Indigo press – the new DM-Uniliner is an entirely standalone machine complete with its own web transport system, unwinder and rewinder.

It runs at 75mpm and takes rolls up to 800mm in diameter. It can handle self-adhesive labels with both plastic and paper substrates. It uses Kyocera printheads with 600 x 600dpi resolution. There are three heads, giving a total print width of 324mm. It prints a transparent UV-ink and uses LED curing.

The way that it works is that the design to be metallised is printed on the reverse of a transfer media, and the ink is pinned to prevent it from spreading. The transfer film is then mated with the label substrate and a final curing is applied to bond the ink with the substrate and the metallised coating layer. After this the carrier film is pulled away leaving the metallised coating layer transferred to the substrate.

The metallisation process can be run before or after colour printing, and it will take preprinted labels from inkjet, toner and flexo presses. When the metallisation is applied before printing, the colours are overprinted and take on a brilliant metallic gloss. This allows designers to create shimmering and vibrant light and colour effects by playing with rainbow colours or using holographic structures. According to Kurz, there’s no distortion of the thin and flat coated labels as they are taken up on a roll, and the labels can be further processed without difficulty.

Equally, the metallisation can be applied after printing with a registration accuracy of ± 0.2mm. As such it can be used to highlight personalisation or to accentuate variable motifs or even different language versions.

It’s also possible to re-run the transfer rolls for overprinting if part of the metallisation area remain unused. The unused areas can be detected by a print mark sensor and transferred to the substrate in a second metallization pass.

It’s worth pointing out that Kurz also produces all the consumables so that the Uniliner can form part of a turn-key solution. The company told me that “the homogeneity of the production and the know-how behind of the entire process are the key elements where we really excel.”

I saw the Jetliner at the Label Expo 2019 show, which seems like a hundred years now, back in the days when people still travelled to trade shows. The samples that I saw were quite impressive and the greater flexibility that the Uniliner offers seems like a sensible step forward.

The DM-Uniliner is available now. Kurz wouldn’t reveal the price other than to say that as well as the cost of the hardware, there’s a stamp charge for consumables, plus a monthly maintenance contract. You can find further details from kurz-graphics.com.