Koenig & Bauer’s Cortina press is now showing ‘production-level results’ with LED light curing in waterless offset. Early adopters of the technology have been reporting stable output on coated papers and widening commercial options.
The Koenig Bauer Cortina press is now showing ‘production-level results’ with LED light curing in waterless offset.
Georg Zitterbart, Koenig & Bauer’s Cortina Project Manager says: “LED light curing has now proven itself in production and further optimisation is now underway with at least four more Cortina installations preparing to adopt the technology.”
The work centres on bringing LED light curing into everyday newspaper and commercial printing on the Cortina. The company says the technology, which uses electricity rather than gas, offers a more energy-efficient alternative to heatset drying and is now proving viable on substrates previously limited by drying constraints.
Freiburger Druck, part of the BZ Medien Group, has carried out extensive testing and recently presented its findings at a Cortina user workshop attended by 80 people. At the workshop, Daniel Binder, Head of Production at Freiburger Druck, confirmed that ‘the printed results showed excellent curing and the process is now ready for daily production’, acknowledging this as ‘a major step forward for newspaper printing’. Binder added that LED modules can be fitted easily and modularly into existing systems.
Waterless offset on the Cortina is built on silicone-coated plates that remove the need for dampening solution. Koenig & Bauer says LED curing provides instant drying, which broadens the scope for work such as book covers and premium magazines.
Rodi Rotatiedruk in the Netherlands, part of the Rodi Media Group and the first Cortina user globally, is now assessing LED light curing for commercial expansion. Rodi Media publishes 1.5 million copies a week across 45 editions and prints for other publishers, including the Dutch Times and Financial Times. Owner Dick Ranzijn told the WAN-IFRA world print summit that the Cortina technology may open opportunities in glossy magazines and could reduce ink usage and waste, committing to allocating resources in 2026 to develop a commercial business case to that end.
