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Look forward to two days full of ideas, exchange, book design practice – and the latest machines and technologies for hardcover books – here at the Schmedt Democenter in Hamburg. On September 11 and 12, 2025, starting at 9 AM each day, we will bring together people who love books – in all their facets: artisanal, design-related, technical, creative. Whether you're a bookbinder, publisher, printer, creative professional, or DIY enthusiast – everyone who not only produces hardcover books but wants to experience, understand, and rethink them is welcome at the Hardcover Days. Register now – we look forward to personally welcoming you to the Hardcover Days! Our partners bring innovative solutions, creative impulses, and sound expertise – for practical insights and personal exchange directly on site. From Planatol, iBookBinding, and ideal to our workshop partners Anna Frey, Lea Giesecke, and Martinus Janssen – at the Hardcover Days, you will meet people who are rethinking hardcover production and book design with passion, know-how, and fresh ideas. Experience machines, techniques, and creative formats live, get advice, and take new impulses for your own work with you.

“Hardcover Days is where the bookbinding community comes together. Two days of ideas, exchange, and practical experience with the latest technology — all under one roof.”

— Schmedt, Hardcover Days 2025 Invitation

Source: Schmedt

PUR is considered the safe bet in many businesses: if it needs to hold properly, you use PUR. But is that always necessary, or is it often just a reflex because "that's how it's always been done"? Smaller manufacturers and bookbinders, in particular, know the downside: PUR can be impressively strong, but it often brings with it more system overhead and process complexity than is practical in everyday use. On the other hand, there's standard EVA hotmelt: uncomplicated and proven, but often at its limit when requirements increase. For example, when more strength or better results are needed on coated digital printing papers with high grammage. Precisely between these two worlds, a convincing alternative has long been missing. We are now closing this gap! Instead of immediately thinking about a new machine, it's worth looking at the often overlooked but most effective adjustment screw: the adhesive itself. Our new PräMelt PO Plus is a polyolefin-based hotmelt, developed to increase process reliability while reducing complexity. The biggest advantage in everyday operations: you can use it for both spine and side gluing. This alone reduces material changes, simplifies storage, and minimizes sources of error. Furthermore, other significant strengths are convincing, which will immediately become apparent in your production:

“PUR is often used as a reflex—because it's always been done that way. PräMelt PO Plus challenges that assumption, delivering comparable performance with simpler processing.”

— Schmedt, Magazine / News

Source: Schmedt

Since the beginning of the year, Epple has established the format “Epple Experts Event”. Specialists in different areas communicate with future-oriented print experts in a relaxed environment. In January they came to Hamburg and in June 2018 to Harsewinkel-Marienfeld to visit the events concerning the topic packaging. Helmut Fröhlich of Epple marked out the statutory framework of packaging print. © Epple Druckfarben AG Branding, sustainability, process optimisation and food printing: The selection of topics for the exclusive Epple Experts Events was always intentionally wide-ranging. In the course of this, one thing became evident: The folding box has turned into a “point of sale” in shopping centres and stores. Packaging experts today are all-rounders in terms of knowledge: They are proficient in production layout as well as folding box design and are part of product marketing. The guests value the diversity of experts and the views beyond the horizons of the press room. How do I use brand positioning as a management tool? How can packaging be seductive from a colour-psychological perspective? Is my printing company ready for print 4.0? How can I achieve an increase in efficiency in packaging production? These topics inspired the strategic point of view of the guests at the expert event to a great extent. Besides the new pure ink system PURe, the focus lay on environmentally friendly packaging print with the BoFood ink series by Epple, for printing on packing in- and outsid…

Source: Epple Druckfarben AG

A greenish blue, which should look fresh, but not too bright? The colouring division makes the colour dreams of customers come true. Especially the CI-requirements of print customers are demanding. The colouring team of Epple Druckfarben AG is accordingly qualified and experienced. Colourists carry out their work with passion. It is therefore no wonder that the colouring team at Epple has been working together for a long time and has therefore collected indispensable experience, which benefits the customer. The central task of the colour experts is the development of custom colours on the basis of various mixing systems dependent on the area of application, Food, Non-Food or UV inks. Laboratory work at Epple: Seeking and finding the best colour recipes for the customer. “The requirements of colour composition are of a technical nature and have to be individually processed according to customer requirements. This can be the adaptation of custom colours for CI on the most varied of substrates or special technical properties for re-usable labels, and the key word is realness" explains Norbert Lenzgeiger, Head of Colouring dept. and implementation technology at Epple. The customers are printing houses, agencies and branded companies. Fast mixing, brilliant optics as well as environmental and consumer friendliness: these detailed customer requirements must be exactly understood and applied to our recipes. The recipes for the offset printing inks are put together using the XInkFor…

Source: Epple Druckfarben AG

To ensure successful folding box production you need a good design, the application of sustainable raw materials and a printing ink which not only complies with all EU guidelines but also meets every customer requirement. Economic and reproducible print production is the stated goal; Epple's printing inks contribute with their high colour intensity, precision and good printability. Epple is a strong and innovative player on the European packaging printing market with its trailblazing packaging printing inks. This is proven by its wide range of environmentally friendly packaging printing inks, which protect users and consumers. Epple is preparing itself and its products for current developments such as the amendments in the draft of the 21st consumer goods ordinance ("German printing ink ordinance") and is always targeted towards the needs of the customers. The centrepiece of the German printing ink ordinance will be a positive list of proven substances. Epple has achieved a unique selling point thanks to its expertise in migration harmless printing, which is now paying off handsomely. We were pioneers when we became the first producer of a mineral oil-free sheet fed offset ink (eco ink) in1993 based on renewable raw materials. At the moment, interest is increasing tremendously in this sustainable ink system; which can be observed in our events such as the Epple Experts Events. “The packaging printing industry is unbelievably rich in printing technologies, very creative and a…

Source: Epple Druckfarben AG

Komori Corporation (Sumida-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Satoshi Mochida, "Komori") is pleased to announce that the KGC Printing College, operated by the Komori Graphic Technology Center (KGC) at its Tsukuba Plant, has reached a milestone of 1,000 participants in its international training programs since its opening in 2009. To commemorate this achievement, a ceremony was held at KGC, welcoming overseas participants and related parties. The KGC Printing College offers practical training programs designed to help customers achieve stable print quality and improved productivity in support of their actual production environments. These hands-on training programs have been well received by customers around the world, and the continued delivery of these programs has led to this milestone.As the 1,000th participants in Komori's international training programs, Mr. Shane Smithe and Mr. Cameron Richards of Immij from Australia shared the following comments: "It was an honor to be part of this milestone. Not every manufacturer offers a service model like this and having both on-site and remote training is a real advantage. Being able to see the equipment in person made a difference. I was very impressed by the standard engineering quality and the precision of the machines."From a distributor's perspective, Mr. Steve Harper of Print & Pack Australia Pty Ltd commented: "Being a Komori distributor for many years, having Komori's backup makes a real difference. Bringing customers here--not…

Source: Komori