SWISS STAR The SVI is holding the Swiss Star packaging competition for the 44th time. 12 packages have won. (more…)

WEB-TV Kassensturz tested the ad-free subscriptions of the three largest web TV providers Wilmaa, Zattoo and Teleboy. Wilmaa received the best marks. Swiss online TV is happy about this "like a bunch of little children". (more…)

Stefan Hunkeler proves to be a trendsetter in digital printing with his "Innovationdays" trade show.FROM HANNES ZAUGGMK First of all, let's look back from the top. Did Innovationdays 2013 meet expectations in terms of visitor numbers, exhibitor feedback, visitor reactions? STEFAN HUNKELER All our expectations were met. We received positive feedback from countless of the more than 5000 visitors. The exhibitors appreciated this event because it brought a high number of "qualitative leads", effort and return matched, even to an above-average degree compared to other trade fairs. The visitors agreed: The concept of the fair hits the mark. There are already more than 100,000 posts on the Internet, there are practically only positive things to report, both from the exhibitors as well as from the subject experts and the visitors.MK How will the trade show continue? Other trade fairs are having to cut back considerably and are realigning themselves. With the exhibitors of the Innovationdays, on the other hand, the will to be more present here is noticeable. In addition, there is the expansion of the Lucerne Exhibition Center, another hall would be available next time, the Hunkeler exhibition could be doubled. Will it? HUNKELER The current concept is good, we should not change much. The expansion and modernization of the Lucerne exhibition grounds on the Allmend are making great strides, which offers very positive opportunities for Innovationdays in the future. Of course, we could double the 2015 fair, in all respects. However, Hunkeler is not interested in setting up as large an exhibition as possible. The secret of Innovationdays is its compactness, which is particularly appreciated by both customers and exhibitors. After personal consultation with all those responsible for the main exhibitors - our major printing partners - and countless discussions with customers, there is a unanimous opinion: "keep it as it is". This may then mean that we again have to cancel more than 30 potential exhibitors. We will definitely use the new Allmend Congress Center in 2015. Negotiations with Lucerne are underway, and we will make the final decision on the use of the infrastructure by the beginning of the summer.MK The trump card of this trade show is the clear subject area (transactional printing in the digital process) and since complete solutions for specific applications. Is this clear focus appreciated by exhibitors and the all-in-one idea respected by visitors, who are more likely to buy complete solutions instead of individual machines?HUNKELER At the Innovation Days, the customer sees total solutions with complete infrastructures, as their future business model could be depicted. The workflow is partly cross-plant and practice-oriented. In today's production world, every company is required to see total solutions in the foreground. This allows a plant and infrastructure to be optimally configured and aligned with the market. However, there are also customers who consider individual machines as a supplement. Hunkeler's modular systems, which were also shown at the Innovation Days, are ideally suited for this. In terms of applications, the show has changed in recent years, from transactional printing driven topics to more direct mail and print-on-demand solutions with book, brochure and even packaging applications.MK This year, it became more apparent that the solutions on show were clearly competing with the classic production method - mostly offset printing without a clear workflow. Are you competing more consciously against the big suppliers in the print business?HUNKELER No, we try as far as possible to act as a complement to the big players in the print business, and in some cases also as partners. We concentrate on our strengths. Of course, there is an increasing overlap with traditional offset printing, because digital printing in general is increasing strongly in productivity and print product runs are decreasing, in some cases drastically. One advantage of Hunkeler and Innovation days is that both are at home in the traditional graphic arts industry as well as in digital printing.

WEBSHOPS The successful handling of "touchpoints" in online stores contributes significantly to success. Online marketing expert Marco De Micheli explains how store operators can develop "earning touchpoints". (more…)

ONLINE DIRECTORIES A phone number and address with just one click? local.ch and search.ch are locked in a neck-and-neck race for online users. With a search process that’s now well-established, as well as new services and applications, they’re seeing growing visitor numbers. And there are interesting niches waiting for B2B portals. (more…)

O. Kleiner AG prints flexible packaging for food and non-food products using the digital printing process.At O. Kleiner AG, where flexible packaging for food and non-food products is manufactured, over 5,000 jobs have been carried out using the digital printing process in the past twelve years. 80 percent of them as multiple laminates. "Today, digital printing is mainly used for industrial production of smaller quantities," explains Lucia Kleiner. "All materials commonly used in the packaging industry are used." Kleiner cites the following advantages of digital printing: - Shorter print preparation time -> result is achieved more quickly - Fewer work steps -> less susceptibility to errors, smaller tolerances, lower costs- Less waste -> lower costs, smaller delivery tolerances - High reproducibility -> GzD ex press- No disposal of solvents necessary- Personalization possible - Digital printing meets the strict ecological requirements of O. Kleiner AG.Width and speed as problems But there are still limits, too. On the one hand, there are equipment-related limitations in terms of press width and printing speed. On the other hand, limits are set by ink technology (ink prices, thermal stability). Nevertheless, demand for digital printing has increased sharply in recent months, according to Lucia Kleiner. "On the one hand, this has to do with HP's increased activities in the packaging market, and on the other hand, the advantages of the system are increasingly being perceived. Digital printing is being included in the decision-making process, especially for short runs."Download the PDF of the article: MK Special Edition Document Managment & Digital Printing 2013