EVENT SPOTLIGHT / HUNKELER INNOVATIONDAYS 2023 47 www.printmonthly.co.uk May / June 2023 - Issue 342 Hunkeler Innovationdays recently celebrated a successful return after taking a break due the pandemic. Usually running every two years, the event hadn’t run since 2019 and as a result, excitement and anticipation was high. This excitement was demonstrated in the number of visitors to the event with the show reaching a record number of attendees. Taking place in Messe Luzern in Switzerland, the show saw a variety of solutions in digital printing and finishing demonstrated across two halls. Focusing on a theme of Next Level Automation, there were 50 practice-oriented production lines and a number of world and European firsts for visitors to explore. According to organisers, Hunkeler Innovationdays has more than tripled the visitors it first welcomed all the way back in 2003 when the show launched. The event acts as a meeting place/trade fair in which businesses, including Hunkeler partners, can present visitors with collaborative solutions in the commercial print sector. Following the 2023 show organisers have reported that 6,700 visitors attended the event over the four days, with a total number of 14,300 visits from attendees. Visitors and exhibitors attended from all over the world, with 21% attending from Germany, 20% attending from Switzerland, 9% from the Americas, and 7% from the UK. The remaining visitors included large percentages from the rest of Europe, Benelux, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Print Monthly attended the four-day event where we got to speak to visitors, exhibitors, and organisers about the innovations on display, as well as the excitement around reuniting with colleagues and business partners after four years. Hunkeler itself had a number of highlights with new technology being launched and existing technology being integrated with almost every other make of machine – as is the spirit of Hunkeler Innovationdays. The manufacturer showcased 22 solutions with the highlight being the launch of the Starbook book production line which can process 2,000 books per hour, the equivalent of one book every 1.8 seconds. A Shift to B2 Also launched by Hunkeler was its new DocuTrim B2+ sheet finishing device and the BSM book sorting module. Duplo was also demonstrating a B2 multi-finisher giving an indication of where this area of the industry could be heading with many predicting there will be a number of B2 presses hitting the market in months to come. The company used its presence at Hunkeler Innovationdays to host its European show debut of the Duplo DC20K single-pass sheet-by-sheet multifinisher (slitter, cutter, creaser) which is the manufacturer’s first foray into B2 for multi-finishers. We spoke to Blake Roberts, export commercial manager of Duplo International about the potential for more companies to move to B2 in the future and why this may be. “We know in the digital market, HP Indigo has been at the forefront of B2 for at least a few years, and we know that that’s where the market is going. “So why would that be? You can fit more jobs onto a sheet of paper, you might have NEXT LEVEL AUTOMATION From a predicted shift to B2 and inkjet that claims to rival offset, we take a look at some of the collaborations, launches, and highlights from the return of Hunkeler Innovationdays 2023 to Messe Luzern in March Bigger bits of paper require more handling, so going through a guillotine and going through different passes and phases of finishing is less and less desirable as paper gets bigger ▲ The event ran from February 27th to March 2nd in Luzern, Switzerland
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