Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG sold its wholly owned subsidiary CSAT GmbH to Markem-Imaje GmbH, a Dover Corporation company, with effect from 1 January 2014. Gallus will continue to hold the distribution rights for the Linoprint L rotary inkjet printing press after the change in ownership. The Linoprint L digital drop-on-demand (DoD) system will remain an integral part of Gallus’ portfolio of solutions.

Markem-Imaje, a renowned global provider of product marking and tracing solutions with an extensive range of reliable, innovative inkjet and thermal transfer printers, laser coders and labelling systems, took over CSAT GmbH, based in Eggenstein, Germany, as of 1 January. Gallus will continue to offer the Linoprint L inkjet rotary printing press, manufactured by CSAT, in its defined regional markets and to work with CSAT and Markem-Imaje on enhancing the product.

The Linoprint L uses the drop-on-demand inkjet method and offers a native resolution of 600 dpi and a printing speed of up to 48 metres per minute in four-colour mode. The system therefore complements Gallus’ current flexographic, offset and screenprinting range as it offers a digital solution that can print short or variable label runs. As a highly flexible nearline solution, the Linoprint L was the biggest crowd-puller at this year’s Labelexpo, together with the Gallus ECS C.

These devices combine the benefits of high-resolution, four-colour, digital inkjet printing and conventional high-performance finishing. Labels can be printed digitally inline on the Linoprint L and finished and die cut on the Gallus ECS C as required, or the two machines can be operated independently offline. It is easy to switch between the two modes of operation at the touch of a button. Thanks to this unique combination option, label printers remain highly flexible and can avoid downtimes while also benefiting from cost-effective production.

Gallus’ digital printing portfolio gives label printers access to powerful digital technology. With Markem-Imaje’s in-depth expertise in digital printing and 25 years of success in the marking and coding sector, the future and further development of this offline and near-line digital solution is secure. Gallus is also working closely with Heidelberg on further developing its range of digital services for industrial label printing in the areas of workflow management, prepress and colour management.