Packaging

Koenig & Bauer Introduces New CI Flexo Demo Press at Technology Days 2026

Thursday 30. April 2026 - Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed put flexo technology firmly at the centre of Technology Days 2026, using the two-day gathering in Würzburg to highlight the role of the XD Pro CI Flexo press in modern packaging production and to present a world-first demonstration of its new EasyTronic CI Flexo.

Bringing together around 170 attendees – including converters, partners, industry experts and brand representatives – on 21 and 22 April, the event showed how Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed is developing flexo for today’s packaging markets, while also printing digitally on the RotaJET, showing workflow, software and connected packaging technologies in complete production concepts.

Opening the event in the Customer Technology Centre, Dr Stephen Kimmich, CEO of Koenig & Bauer, acknowledged the challenging market environment, but pointed to the opportunities created by the company’s broad base across sectors and technologies, including flexo and digital printing. Beyond the event itself, the innovations on display underscore Koenig & Bauer’s overarching strategy to increasingly address mid-tech markets with new entry-level options in the future, alongside highly sophisticated solutions for demanding applications.

A major focus was the XD Pro, presented as the workhorse of modern flexo production. Live demonstrations in the Customer Technology Centre showed the CI Flexo press running a range of demanding applications – including stand-up pouches, chocolate bar packaging, mono-material films, and fibre-based packaging – underlining its versatility across key packaging segments. All jobs were printed in ECG (Extended Colour Gamut).

Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed also used the event to stage the world’s first demo of its EasyTronic CI Flexo feature, reflecting its growing focus on flexo markets and on helping converters address increasing demands for efficient, fast makeready and job changeover. To even bring efficiency to an even higher level, the single-sided heat-resistant belt threads the entire web path – including the complex CI section – and provides automatic web feed and time savings of up to 80 percent compared to conventional systems. Both features had been developed using decades of experience from Koenig & Bauer’s newspaper printing heritage.

Alongside the flexo focus, Technology Days 2026 also demonstrated how digital printing on its RotaJET – folding carton was one application shown – and how connected packaging can complement established production processes. A production ‘race’ between the XD Pro and the RotaJET illustrated how CI flexo and digital can work side by side within broader packaging workflows, depending on application and market requirements.

Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed and its partners also showed how substrates, plates, tapes, inks, variable data, workflow, software, and compliance and regulatory expertise can be brought together into practical packaging concepts designed to support production efficiency and market relevance.

Connected packaging also remained part of the story, with all products shown during the event incorporating AURAVEO Connected Packaging features. These demonstrations highlighted how packaging can serve not only as a printed product, but also as a channel for digital interaction, traceability, product information and regulatory communication. The role of connected packaging was further explored in a presentation by Thomas Vollmuth, Head of Brand Owner Management and Marketing Activation AURAVEO Platform, Koenig & Bauer.

Technology Days 2026 also included presentations and practical customer-based scenarios designed to reflect the day-to-day pressures facing converters and brand owners. “These sessions showed how flexo and digital technologies can be applied in realistic production environments to meet specific packaging, compliance and brand requirements”, explained Christian Steinmaßl, CEO Segment Special & New Technologies.

Service – available 24×7 every day of the year – were another part of the programme, with Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed demonstrating how its DataGlass technology can improve customer support efficiency. The data glasses with the instant translation model – designed to strengthen communication between remote support experts and on-site users – were also shown.

Philipp Zimmermann, CEO of Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed, said: “Technology Days 2026 made clear that flexo remains a key technology for the packaging industry. With the XD Pro, we are offering the workhorse of modern flexo production, and with innovations such as EasyTronic CI Flexo, and our USP in web infeed, we are continuing to develop that technology for new market requirements. At the same time, we are a trendsetter in digital printing, connected packaging and are able to provide application expertise with our partners to create practical solutions for our customers.”