Press release

We are excited to announce the new partnership between Sihl and Arrow Systems, Inc., a leader in the digital printing space, to pair the Arrowjet Aqua 330R with the Sihl ARTYSIO line of flexible packaging materials. This partnership allows customers looking for ways to digitally print and pack flexible packaging inline in a single production step up to 12.75’’ wide with waterbased, pigment inkjet.

“We feel that the flexible packaging space is one that has enormous growth potential”, said Shaan Patel of Arrow Systems, Inc. “In the past it has been too costly to produce here. We hope that the combination of the Sihl materials with our inkjet press allows for more customers to begin producing their own short run flexible packaging.” ARTYSIO meets all requirements of the packaging market:

• Ideal packaging solution for printing quantities with strong varying designs
• Individualized print designs whatever the size of print run without additional printing costs
• Print on demand – Just the product determines the time to market
• Goods ready for sale within minutes – 100 times less setup effort compared to analogue printing
  processes
• No storage of pre-printed packaging necessary
• Significantly lower capital commitment compared to traditionally printed packaging
• Made for Recycling

Sihls core competencies are in creating innovative solutions with premium coatings. With Arrow Systems and its ArrowJet, Sihl has found an ideal machine partner to jointly support the market of the digital printing packaging industry.

“Partnering with Arrow has been great”, says Ronny Kunze, Business Development of Sihl Group. “Their team understands the benefits of on demand printing and has been quick to adapt with any changes that we have thrown at them. We are looking forward to bringing our combined product to market worldwide over the next few months.”

The ArrowJet Aqua 330R is a 13’’ water-based pigment inkjet press that can run at speeds up to 150’/min with resolution up to 1600 x 1600 dpi. Sihl ARTYSIO films, in combination with Duraflex pigment ink, are compliant with the following regulations: DuraFlex PZ ink is designed for food packaging and is formulated using components listed on the Swiss Ordinance (RS 817.023.21, entered into force December 2019) and is compliant with the Nestle Guidance Note on Packaging Inks dated October 2018. Meaning this is one of the most food safe digital printers on the market.

Find more information about SIHL ARTYSIO at www.artysio-packaging.com and regarding the ArrowJet Aqua 330R visit www.arrsys.com!

We are proud to announce the new partnership between Sihl and V-Shapes in Flexible Packaging to personalize V-Shapes unique single-dose sachets.

V-Shapes is an innovative supplier of vertically integrated products and services for convenient, hygienic and sustainable single-dose packaging. V-Shapes sachets are a brand-new way to safely, affordably and sustainably pack products in unique single dose packaging that can be opened in a single gesture using one hand, ranging from hand sanitizer to cosmeetics and more. These recyclable single portion sachets can be printed in multiple languages with customized brand messaging and use instructions.

Especially when it comes to short runs, print on demand and individualized messaging, Sihl ARTYSIO films for water-based inkjet printing are the ideal solution.

Leveraging SIHL core competencies in creating innovative solutions with premium coatings, SIHL ARTYSIO flexible packaging material  is the best option for the flexible top layer. This includes alignment between the speed of the Memjet printheads, the amount of water contained in the ink, and the ability of SIHL substrates with special coatings to absorb water and fix pigments for high quality printing that dries immediately during the in-line printing process. SIHL ARTYSIO media are also fully compliant with direct food contact, scratch and crack resistant, and deliver the widest possible colour gamut, especially important when printing brand colours.

“Our coatings optimized for use with aqueous inkjet inks,” said Ronny Kunze, Director of Global Sales and Business Development for Packaging at SIHL Group, “and this opens up opportunities for V-Shapes customers to completely customize their sachets with very high quality Memjet-driven inkjet printing, making this unique single-dose packaging system even more valuable.“

Sihl and V-Shapes have worked closely on sealing and barrier properties as well, suppling them with the best possible resin recipes to deliver excellent results as well as industrial recyclability. We look forward to our continued work with V-Shapes as both companies want to invest in packaging with a sustainable future.

“Working with Sihl as we developed our innovative vertically integrated single-dose packaging solution has been rewarding, and we have benefited from their deep knowledge of coatings, substrates, and how inkjet printing of our sachets can be optimized,“ said Christian Burattini, CEO of V-Shapes.

We are pleased to announce that nine Sihl products have now been certified by HP for the brand new Latex 700/800 series.

Sihl offers a wide range of media for printing with latex inks. Some of these products are not only profiled, but are HP Latex certified: This means that they have been thoroughly tested by an independent testing lab on HP Latex printers and in their application.

So far our products have been tested and certified for the HP Latex 300 and 500 series. Due to our close cooperation with HP, we are proud that nine Sihl media are now additionally certified for the brand new HP Latex 700/800 series:

• Non-woven design2wall FR 210 (2517)
• PolySOL roll-up film 180 satin (3515)
• Backlit Film Plus 220 Satin (3560)
• Roll-Up Film Plus 205 SB Satin (3598)
• Poster Paper Pro 130 Matt (3673)
• TriSolv Poster Paper Prime 200 Glossy (3686)
• TriSolv Billboard Paper Plus 130 satin (3687)
• TriSolv PhotoArt Paper 210 (3699)
• Vivalux Backlit Film Latex 200 Matt (3747)

All profiles can be found online in the “Navigator for HP substrate solutions”: www.hp.com/go/mediasolutionslocator. For other printing systems and inks, numerous other profiles are also available on our website at www.sihl.com/en/ on the respective product pages.

The Sihl Group, an internationally leading producer of printable media within the fast-growing global market for digital printing with locations in Switzerland, Germany and the USA, has a new CEO: On May 18, 2020, Peter K. Wahsner will take over the management of Sihl. He has extensive industry and management experience and will drive the further development of the company.

Until the end of 2019, Peter K. Wahsner was the CEO of the Infiana Group, a globally leading producer of specialty films. After a successful spin-off from the Finnish packaging group Huhtamaki and with the financial support of the investor Deutsche Beteiligungs AG, Infiana developed under his leadership into a global market leader with currently 900 employees and a turnover of about 200 million Euro. At the end of 2019, Infiana was successfully sold to the British investor Pamplona.

Before his time at Infiana, Peter K. Wahsner held leading positions at Huhtamaki, the British packaging company Rexam, General Electric Plastics and BASF for several years. During his career, he has spent time in the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA, which has shaped his career as a global leader.

The Board of the Sihl Group is happy to welcome the new CEO, who has broad know-how in the fields of internationalization, strategy and change management as well as a passion for inspiring people for a cause, which will help the group to set the right course towards moving ahead full-speed and developing Sihl globally.

“The success of the Sihl Group is primarily based on product innovation and its entire staff’s high level of expertise. These core competencies, along with a passion for creating a global market leader characterized by growth, market knowledge and a high degree of customer focus, will shape the story of Sihl in the future. I am looking forward to working with the Sihl team to start the next chapter in the company’s long history”, says Peter K. Wahsner.

The Autralian Wool Testing Authority Ltd. (AWTA Product Testing) awarded two non-woven wallpapers from Sihl after extensive tests with their flame protection certificate. These products are now not only tested according to European standards, but also according to Australian and New Zealand standards.

Non-woven design2wall FR 210 (2517) and Prepasted non-woven design2wall FR 230 (2515) are high quality non-woven wallpapers for printing with solvent, latex and UV inks and are characterised by high colour brilliance and dimensional stability. The tough, scratch resistant surface permits its long-term use in busy areas. In addition, both wallpapers are PVC free, FSC® certified and environmentally friendly.

Thanks to the water-activated paste on the back, the printed wallpaper Prepasted non-woven design2wall FR 230 (2515) can be stuck to the wall immediately after soaking in water. The pre-dose of paste adheres to many different surfaces remaining easy to remove.

Both products are already certified as flame retardant according to the European Standard EN 13501-1. Now AWTA Product Testing has also tested both products for heat and smoke release rates according to the methods ISO 5660.1-2015 and AS / NZS 3837-1998. Both non-woven wallpapers were able to meet the requirements and are now certified as flame-retardant according to Australian and New Zealand standards.