By Lukas Rosenkranz, Project Management Lead, Koenig & Bauer Durst
When people ask me what it’s like to be a Project Management Lead at Koenig & Bauer Durst, I often smile and remark, “No two days are ever the same.”
At Koenig & Bauer Durst, customer success is our priority. We want to ensure that our systems deliver reliable, profitable performance.
My role takes me across Europe – from Germany to Spain to England – where I work side by side with customers installing and supporting our Delta SPC 130 machines.
But the job doesn’t end with installation. I return to customers months later to observe, advise, and help them get the very best out of their machines.
With a background in mechatronics and automation, I can often see details that others might miss. That training helps me notice subtle issues in production – things that can make the difference between frustration and flawless output.
I spend an entire day at a customer site, observing, checking every component, and working with third-party suppliers to improve performance. Sometimes this means hours of fine-tuning, followed by detailed reports and training sessions to ensure the customer’s team feels confident.
One of the most rewarding parts of my job is transforming challenges into success stories.
I’ve seen customers start the day angry because their equipment wasn’t working properly – only to end the day relieved and happy after we solved the issue together.
Third-party companies often bring complex error-cutting systems, and I work closely with them to integrate improvements. Seeing the customer’s production line run smoothly afterward is always satisfying.
For me, silence is golden: if I don’t hear from a customer, it means the machine is running perfectly. That’s the ultimate goal.
Last year alone, I spent 11–12 weeks abroad supporting customers. Each country brings new challenges, new cultures, and new opportunities to learn, including improving my English.
It’s demanding work, but when customers achieve success, the relief and happiness on their faces make it worthwhile.
By Tom Sander, VariJET Product Manager
Demand for folding carton packaging is being defined by major economic shifts including GDP growth, household consumption expenditure, population trends, and urbanisation.
Addressing the impact of this future growth is the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) which aims to reduce packaging waste, promote reuse and recycling, and improve the sustainability of packaging across all materials, including folding cartons.
Its key objectives that impact folding carton printers are the reduction of packaging waste by minimising unnecessary materials, promoting recyclability and design for circularity, restrictions on certain materials and composite structures and increased transparency and documentation (e.g., proof of recyclability, traceability). It also sets reusable and refillable packaging targets.
We at Koenig & Bauer Durst are ideally positioned to help folding carton converters adapt to the PPWR through a combination of technology, expertise, and documentation.
Innovative digital printing technology enables rapid, flexible, and sustainable production. From concept to market-ready product, the production timeline is reduced from weeks to just days.
The VariJET 106 digital printing press, jointly developed by Durst and Koenig & Bauer, combines conventional offset technology with digital inkjet technology and software expertise to deliver responsible, flexible on demand production with minimal waste. It enables application versatility with water-based, food-safe inks.
The topic was explored at the European Carton Makers Association Congress in Istanbul in October, which was also a strong reminder of the role collaboration plays in shaping the future of folding cartons. Among the takeaways we found worth sharing included market challenges, the focus on sustainability and the value creation with digital. See more details here [use link].
Interested to learn more? Contact us to see how our digital technology help you create a brighter folding carton future.
By Wolfgang Zeug, Lead Print Instructor, Koenig & Bauer
Being part of the team and refining the evolution of the VariJET 106 is a privilege. We are elevating the print quality to the great results we consistently achieve today.
One of the undoubted advantages in folding cartons between ourselves and competitors – such as Landa – is the ability print directly on to uncoated materials with the VariJET.
This allows us to print significantly more ink onto the sheet, which is needed when printing on uncoated materials. As a result, the print on uncoated materials looks beautifully vibrant on the VariJET.
The appearance on uncoated materials is very good. The structure of the paper is retained, but it is still possible to achieve a very high ink coverage and thus a beautifully rich and saturated color. Since the ink flows well, the material is also not susceptible to missing nozzles and skewed jets.
At the end of the day, although I’m just a printer, I can see that the VariJET offers customers new opportunities, such as a surface with a different look. In times when eco-friendly packaging is in vogue, this allows you to stand out from other market providers.
Only recently, a customer who prints almost exclusively on uncoated materials visited our Radebeul Customer Demo Center and was very enthusiastic about the results.
He went as far to say he hadn‘t seen anything like it in a long time!
Development of the VariJET will continue, with research into even better ink and improvements to sheet travel.
I am delighted to be part of this unique collaboration between Durst and Koenig & Bauer, two market-leading companies in the printing and packaging industry.
Guest blog by Markus Weiss, CEO of Koenig & Bauer Paper & Packaging
With nearly two decades of experience in the printing sector, I bring a deep understanding of digital transformation and its potential.
Now as CEO of Koenig & Bauer Paper & Packaging Sheetfed Systems, my priority is to position Koenig & Bauer as a comprehensive solution provider and Trusted Advisor. This includes developing innovative business models that drive the complementary use of offset and digital printing in the packaging and commercial printing industries.
Whereas offset printing remains the leading technology in packaging and commercial printing, digital printing is becoming increasingly important.
The optimal combination of both technologies opens up new growth opportunities for our customers and shows that their joint use will shape the future of the printing industry.
This is especially true with increasing numbers of innovative solutions in the prepress and postpress adding to the possibilities.
Our aim is to make our customers even more successful and helping them to differentiate from competition. This is why we provide our customers with holistic system solutions encompassing PrePress (software), Press (offset and digital), and PostPress (finishing), enabled by intelligent automation and leveraging AI for maximum production efficiency.
With the VariJET 106 – a joint development between ourselves and Durst Group – we provide a very good and unique technical solution for folding carton markets.
My personal opinion is that it is super-critical to be getting run lengths up to 7.000 sheets per hour on the VariJET 106 and develop even more new applications.
The VariJET 106 has an important part to play in the future, albeit one piece of the jigsaw.
I look forward to expanding the boundaries of what is possible in complementary printing and our comprehensive automation solutions, and to positioning us as a leading comprehensive solution provider and strengthening our position as THE Trusted Advisor in this dynamic market.
Guest blog by Dr. Carolin Müller, Product Management, Protection Technologies Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection
In a fast-moving world where the only constant is change, here’s a sneak preview of a new product we’re officially unveiling this autumn.
And why specifically Koenig & Bauer Durst’s LinkedIn platform? Well, in addition to being asked to provide input for this blog, the VariJET 106 is of huge interest for this new protection product called ‘Aegis’.
Brands producing luxury goods and otherwise exposed – for example, pharmaceuticals, tobacco or confectionery – are wary of fraud or counterfeiting issues and need to assure their customers of the integrity and traceability of high-value purchases.
The Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection industry-recognised protection technology is called Stegano, which ensures products are protected by hidden data. My colleague, Marc Hunsänger, provided an insight here.
Now we’ve taken this a step further with our ‘Aegis Protect’ that will be officially unveiled in September, which will include a series of high-profile roadshows in the UK, Europe and North America.
In essence, Aegis Protect is an easy-to-apply varnish protection. Every varnish provides added value, is not recognisable but is optically readable and has the security features integrated, not added.
It secures like a vault but without any visible lock. Decoding is carried out by verification checks with the open platform ava (a verification app), which is technology agnostic and multi-factor ready.
We’re already working with some of the Koenig & Bauer Durst customers who need to enhance security for their own clients.
We see Aegis Protect as being extremely important for the VariJET 106 – and can help sales.
And one of the spin-off benefits is that the amount of varnish required for jobs is significantly reduced because, with Aegis, there is raster manipulation.
Find out more about the VariJET here: VariJET 106 – Koenig & Bauer Durst Digital Packaging Print
Find out more about Stegano here: https://www.koenig-bauer.com/en/products/p/stegano
The product name Aegis stems from the modern use of the word for protection and support, often symbolizing a shield or defence in various contexts. It has its roots in ancient mythology, primarily linked to Greek culture. See here for more details.
Mondi has expanded its portfolio with a high-performance digital printing solution, enabling customised, high-volume packaging following the acquisition of Schumacher Packaging’s Western European operations.
Guest blog by Marc Hunsänger, Director Protection Technologies, Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection
Proud of our heritage as the world’s first security press manufacturer, we’ve come a long way in the world of printing.
And as digital natives with more than a dozen years of app development experience, we make protection scalable and smart. Using cryptographic principles, your information stays private and secure.
Stegano is the name of our technology that ensures products are protected by hidden data. It also provides fast offline decoding and built-in connectivity. It can modify every single folding carton on a production line, providing unique, hidden serialisation.
With Stegano we can manipulate the printing for every single folding carton but with the huge advantage that the design won’t be visually altered. With an algorithm we can create new “information” that can be written text or a symbol.
It’s impossible to see the hidden information with the naked eye. But you can decode it with our app.
In terms of new possibilities, Koenig & Bauer Durst’s VariJET 106 is probably the most exciting development we’ve ever come across in recent years.
This digital press can modify folding cartons for each item (-> serialisation), no other conventional printing press can do it.
The advantages for customers using the VariJET 106 for protection purposes include:
For all these reasons and more, the VariJET is the perfect press.
Find out more about the VariJET here: VariJET 106 – Koenig & Bauer Durst Digital Packaging Print
Find out more about Stegano here: https://www.koenig-bauer.com/en/products/p/stegano
1817: Koenig & Bauer is founded – the world’s oldest printing press manufacturer
1936: Durst begins its journey as a pioneer for photography and imaging technologies
2025: Shaping the future of the print industry – together as Koenig & Bauer Durst
We bring together the best of both worlds – Koenig & Bauer’s centuries of mechanical engineering expertise and Durst’s digital innovation power. Our focus: folding carton, corrugated, and software solutions for packaging printing.
Jochen Sproll, our Strategy and Business Development Manager, sums it up perfectly: “The combination of conventional and digital printing is a win for the entire industry – processes become more efficient, more flexible, and more sustainable.”
Why?
Because the packaging market is evolving rapidly.
To remain competitive, packaging production processes must become more efficient – without compromising on the ability to deliver or print quality.
Digital packaging printing is:
But: It doesn’t replace offest in the near future. That’s why we focus on hybrid solutions that combine the strengths of both technologies.
A prime example: Our VariJET 106 – co-developed by Koenig & Bauer and Durst. It unites the expertise of both companies!
Conventional and digital printing are not opposites. They are partners – working side by side for a future-ready print industry.
Want to dive deeper into the topic of offset and digital printing.
Koenig & Bauer Durst GmbH
Friedrich-Koenig-Str. 4
97080 Würzburg
Germany
Phone: +49 931 909 0
Email: info@koenig-bauer-durst.com
Koenig & Bauer Durst GmbH
Friedrich-Koenig-Str. 4
97080 Würzburg
Germany
Phone: +49 931 909 0
Email: info@koenig-bauer-durst.com