Durst (durst-group.com), a manufacturer of advanced digital printing and production technologies, has entered into a 50/50 joint venture with printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer (koenig-bauer.com) for the joint development of single-pass digital printing systems for the folding carton and cartonboard corrugated industry.

As technology leader in inkjet printing, Durst bundles this expertise with the market presence and excellent mechanical engineering of the Koenig & Bauer Group, which, with more than 5,700 employees, is one of the world's major suppliers of packaging and banknote printing.

In future, fully automated production lines will be developed in the joint venture and distributed worldwide. The digital transformation is also in the packaging industry, as the ever-changing requirements can no longer be met with conventional production technologies. Unlike in the graphics industry, an inkjet press alone is not enough, but there is a need to integrate different peripheral systems into a fully automatic production line.

The new partner company will be based in Germany and will also manage the service and ink business in close cooperation with the global network of both companies.