Chiyoda Gravure Installs World’s First Screen Truepress PAC 830F

Japan-based Chiyoda Gravure Corporation has commissioned the world’s first Truepress PAC 830F inkjet digital press from Screen Graphic Solutions for the industrial production of flexible packaging. The installation expands the company’s manufacturing capabilities to include digital printing, with a particular focus on improving the cost efficiency of short- and medium-run production.

The investment reflects changing requirements in the packaging market. Growing product diversification, shorter product life cycles and declining order volumes are placing increasing pressure on packaging manufacturers to make their production processes more flexible. At the same time, resource efficiency, shorter lead times, rising material costs and labour shortages are becoming increasingly important considerations.

In gravure printing in particular, frequent job changes involve considerable effort for press make-ready, colour matching and cleaning. This affects productivity and increases material consumption.

Following the installation and qualification of the Truepress PAC 830F, Chiyoda has established a production system for digitally printed flexible packaging. Its primary focus is on short and medium production runs. In future, digital production will complement the company’s existing gravure printing operations, enabling it to respond more effectively to differing market requirements.

Water-Based Digital Printing

The Truepress PAC 830F uses water-based pigment inks and eliminates a number of process steps required in conventional printing. According to the company, the system can significantly reduce material consumption, make-ready times and cleaning requirements compared with conventional production processes.

Chiyoda is pursuing several objectives with the new technology. It is intended to enable different packaging designs to be produced economically within standardised formats, for example for regional product variants, limited-time promotions or market tests. At the same time, demand-driven production is expected to help reduce inventory levels and the number of stock-keeping units, or SKUs.

The company also expects the technology to ease pressure on production by reducing make-ready requirements. According to Chiyoda, make-ready times can be cut by approximately 70% compared with conventional processes. In addition, the use of water-based inks and on-demand production is expected to reduce resource consumption and packaging waste.

Part of the “Eco Smaart” Strategy

With the commissioning of the Truepress PAC 830F, Chiyoda is further expanding its Eco Smaart initiative. Under this brand, the company brings together its digital services and solutions for digitally produced flexible packaging. The initiative is designed to address market demand for shorter runs, faster delivery, optimised inventory management and more resource-efficient production.

Chiyoda and Screen Graphic Solutions intend to jointly establish a production model that combines the respective strengths of digital and gravure printing. By 2030, the partners aim to increase the share of digitally printed work to approximately 10% of their packaging production.

Company Statements

Hiroyoshi Sato, President of Chiyoda Gravure Corporation, described the investment as an important step in expanding the company’s production capabilities. With the Truepress PAC 830F, Chiyoda is complementing its gravure printing capacity with a flexible digital printing solution, enabling it to respond to growing demand for shorter runs and greater product variety.

Hiromi Sakurai, President of Screen Graphic Solutions, likewise regards the installation as a milestone in the industrial adoption of digital printing for flexible packaging. The Truepress PAC 830F was developed to support both digital transformation and more sustainable production processes in the packaging industry.