Benny Landa, Founder, Landa Digital Printing, shared his views with Editor-in-Chief, Digital Impressions, on the development of Nanography and its growing influence and transformation of global printing industry.
What inspired you to embark on the journey of revolutionising the printing industry with digital printing technology?
My love of print began as a child, in Canada, helping my father in his shop. A carpenter by trade,my father was also a keen inventor. He had an idea for producing passportphotos without the need for photographic film, by capturing the image directly onto photographic paper. His “camera” was the size of a large closet, with an illuminated booth on one side of the lens and a dark room on the other. Usingbicycle parts, pulleys, chains, rollers and photographic chemicals, his wooden machine was able – amazingly - to produce high quality passport photos by going directly to paper, bypassing the need for film!
Twenty years later, I found myself doing exactly the same thing: producing high quality printed images directly on paper, bypassing the need for films and printing plates – and the digital printing press was born. The credit really belongs to my father…
Can you share some of the early challenges you faced while developing the first digital printing press, and how did you overcome them?
When you set out to create an entirely new technology, the biggest challenge is that you are all on your own. There are no guidebooks to read, no maps to follow.In our case, the task was especially daunting due to the complexity of the technology. You see, the Indigo process uses liquid electrophotography, which relies on electrically charged pigment particles to develop invisible electrostatic images, produced by laser exposure of a charged photoconductor, and then thermally transferring the images to paper. Sounds complicated, right? That’s why it took us sixteen years of R&D to develop our first press! But when you have a team of gifted, committed scientists and engineers, who, most importantly, believe in the technology, everything is possible.
What motivated you to focus on Nano Digital Printing? What were the most significant technological breakthroughs during its development and how did they influence the final product?
When I sold Indigo to HP in 2002, I thought I was leaving the printing industry forever. I started Landa Labs, with the goal of developing a new technology for converting low temperature heat to electricity. Early on in that project we developed a new way of producing nanoparticles and I wondered if it could also be used to produce pigments. We tried it, it worked, and we discovered nanopigments. Nanopigments have such amazing optical properties that I simply had no choice: I had to go back into printing! Nanopigments led to NanoInk®, which led to Nanography® – and Landa Digital Printing was born. The rest is history.
Could you elaborate on the science behind Nano Ink? In your opinion, how will Nano Printing technology disrupt the current print market, and what industries will experience the most transformation?
Yes, sure. Nanography is a combination of two breakthrough technologies: digitally-jettednano-pigment inks combined with a unique dry thermal transfer process.
Let’s start with the ink, that we call NanoInk®. All inks do two things: they absorb the wavelengths of light that you don’t want and they transmit the colors you do want. But conventional pigments (that are hundreds of nanometers in size) do one more thing: they also scatter light. Scattered light reduces the depth and purity of the color. In the case of nano-pigment inks (which are only a few tens of nanometers in size), there is zero scatter, enabling deep rich colors, not possible with conventional pigment inks. That is one of the reasons Nanography produces such breathtaking brilliant colors.
The second technology, dry thermal transfer, enables Nanography to achieve such amazing high quality results on virtually any kind of paper, which no other ink-based printing process can achieve. That is because, with Nanography, there is no ink-paper interaction: wet ink never contacts paper. The ink is completely dried before being transferred to paper, so all printed images are identical, no matter what the substrate. Thus, Nanography is the only printing process that is totally substrate-independent.
We expect Nanography to pervade all printing markets, from packaging and commercial printing to publishing – all of which must ultimately digitalize, without sacrificing quality, versatility or cost.
How is Nano Printing addressing environmental concerns in the printing industry, and what are your long-term sustainability goals?
It is clear that we, as a species, must change our ways if we are to survive. We have but one planet, and we cannot continue to poison its waters and pollute its air. We cannot continue to consume fossil fuels that warm the earth and will make our planet uninhabitable. And it is an emergency. There is no plan B and no Planet B. We must NOW act to save our civilization.
How is the printing industry contributing to the problem? Well, think about this: every year, offset printing plates alone create over one million tons of aluminum waste. That’s almost as much aluminium as is used to produce all of the world’s airplanes each year – and airplanes last for decades!The printing industry also creates over 300 million tons of paper waste – every year!
Now some may think that since aluminum is recyclable and paper is renewable, that’s not so bad. But recycling of aluminum and milling of paper are both enormously energy intensive – adding unconscionable amounts of carbon dioxide to our atmosphere.
So where does digital printing come in? Well, for a start, all digital printing eliminates printing plates and greatly reduces setup paper waste. That’s a big step in the right direction.But in the case of Landa Digital Printing, there’s another factor: substrate independence. Nanography is able to produce ultra-high quality printing on any paper stock, even the cheapest uncoated paper. Why is that so profound?
Well consider this: high-end coated papers cost twice as much per ton as low-end uncoated paper. But since uncoated paper has only half the density of coated paper, for a given paper thickness, per ton you get twice as much paper!Twice as much per ton, at half the cost, means it costs four times as much to print on high-end coated papers versus low-end uncoated stocks!
That means not only higher costs for the print shop owner and his customers, but there is also a huge sustainability penalty.
The reason coated stocks cost more is that they are more difficult and complicated to produce – and it takes a lot more energy.So why does the industry use costly, wasteful, coated papers?
Because with today’s printing technologies, that’s the only way to get brilliant colors and high quality.That, in our new digital age of printing, is about to change.
How do you see the role of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in the future development of Nano Printing presses?
n my opinion, automation and AI will continue to be essential in driving production efficiencies, lowering waste, increasing profitability and ensuring the long-term success of the industry. In terms of Landa, we already have AI within our new Landa S11 and S11P presses, which became commercially available for the first time at Drupa 2024. The new presses offer a new PrintAI module which enhances print quality even further. It ensures a perfect fit for even the most demanding folding cartons and commercial print applications requiring micro text and other brand protection features – it opens the door to additional profit generating opportunities for many businesses.
How scalable is Nano Printing technology, and what measures are you taking to make it more accessible to both large enterprises and smaller print service providers?
Nanography is inherently very scalable. While we will continue to focuson the Landa S11 and S11P presses, Nanographyis versatile in nature, and in time, we have no doubt that it will become the dominant print technology in other markets, from flexible packaging to corrugated and even textile printing.
What do you believe are the next major technological breakthroughs in the printing industry? Are you working on any?
That’s a big question. For now, we will undoubtedly see continued introduction of solutions to further automate and increase production efficiencies to make printers and converters more competitive and profitable. But we believe that Nanography will continue to be THE breakthrough technology the industry wants and needs to deliver value to brands and enable print to succeed alongside other communication media.
Our priority continues to be the delivery of presses to customers around the world. Of course, innovation is at the heart of our business, and we are continuously refining our technology and looking for ways to improve what we do.
How do you anticipate Nano Printing technology influencing the global printing industry, particularly in developing markets and what role will it play in the broader digital transformation of industries
Nanography was designed to unlock the digital print opportunity for all. In North America and Europe – and now in China also -Landa presses are already instrumental in transforming the print and packaging landscape, enabling brands to have what they want, when they want it, and without the waste associated with traditional print technologies. Excitingly, in the years ahead, these benefits will be extended to other developing markets, including India.
Which untapped Geographical region of the world is on your list of Landa presses next? When will we expect them in India?
Nanography will ultimately pervade all markets and regions around the world. And yes, India is a huge potential market for us, and one where digital print will have a significant impact. We will be there at some point, but only when we have the infrastructure to ensure market leading customer service and customer success.
What is Benny Landa’s passion in life outside the print industry?
Yes, I love printing and the printing industry. But I also love solar energy, printed electronics, food tech and the beauty industry–all fields in which Landa Labs is working. What do they all have in common? They are all huge markets, ripe for disruption by deep-tech innovation – and THAT is my passion.
Looking back at your career, what has been the most rewarding moment for you, both personally and professionally, in your journey as an inventor and entrepreneur?
As a young man, I was torn between the arts and sciences, between literature and engineering, between psychology and physics. The most rewarding moment of my career was when I realized that I could have it all –that science and engineering can be THEmost creative art form. Thata machine could be a masterpiece, a symphony. And when I visit customers and see how they use OUR machines to produce heart-stopping artistic creations, well, nothing beats that… |
