Nanotechnology as the future of the printing industry?

With a spectacular show, the company Landa presented its printing solutions based on nanotechnology.There was much speculation in the run-up to the Drupa printing trade show as to what Landa would be presenting this time. Four years ago, the Israeli company caused a sensation by presenting nanotechnology as a printing process to visitors for the first time. However, disillusionment was not long in coming - the machines presented were only prototypes, and the printing industry waited in vain for marketable solutions.This is now to change. With a spectacular presentation including a breathtaking show, Landa presented its progress over the past four years. The ambitious promise: Landa's nanotechnology printing presses can be used to print on papers of all kinds, in offset quality and at very high speed. With this, Landa wants to revolutionize industrial printing.

Printing pioneer Benny Landa explains the advantages of his presses to visitors.Optimal for print runs from 1,000 to 10,000"Until now, it has been the case that digital printing can be used to print short runs cost-effectively, but it no longer becomes profitable above a quantity of around 1,000," explained printing pioneer Benny Landa at Drupa 2016. "With offset printing, very long runs can be printed profitably, but it is often only worthwhile from 10,000 copies onwards." Landa wants to close this gap between 1,000 and 10,000 printed products with its range of products - especially since many orders in industrial printing are exactly this size.Unlike four years ago, Landa is not just presenting prototypes, but four concrete models that are also available on the market: The Landa S10, S10P, W10 and W10P.Environmentally friendly metallization printingIn addition, Landa surprised with a new metallization printing technology. The Nano Metallography-The company's technology offers zero-waste metallization and enables savings of more than half compared to foils.Landa Nano-Metallography is functional with the full range of conventional printing technologies, including narrow web flexo, offset and screen printing for the production of labels, sheetfed offset for folding cartons and commercial printing, web offset for publications and wide web flexo for packaging.It remains to be seen whether nanotechnology will gain acceptance in the printing market. The following video shows the spectacular Landa show at Drupa: