Milan - Against the backdrop of the continuous upgrading of demands for printing efficiency and diversity in the global packaging, gift, home goods and other industries, traditional single-function printing equipment is no longer able to meet the production needs of multiple scenarios. Recently It integrates Flat circular transfer printing machine, Dual-purpose printing equipment and Dual-use transfer system This innovative device, integrating printing system, has achieved a sales explosion in mainstream foreign trade markets such as Europe, America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, thanks to its core advantages of "dual-scene adaptation of flat and circular, high efficiency and energy saving, and precise picture quality". It has become a "high-efficiency production tool" for industries such as plastic packaging, ceramic cups, metal cans and stationery. Many international printing enterprises have included it in their long-term procurement lists, accelerating the transformation of the global printing equipment foreign trade industry towards "multi-functionality and high integration".
The global market demand has exploded, and the pain points of a single device have driven product upgrades
In recent years, the global printing industry has been confronted with three major challenges: "multi-category orders, short production cycles, and low energy consumption costs". In the food packaging industry, both flat packaging bags and round can labels need to be printed simultaneously. Traditionally, two separate machines are required for production, resulting in high equipment investment costs. In the gift industry (such as mugs and insulated cups), orders are fragmented, with frequent switching between flat patterns and curved surface transfers. A single device leads to low production efficiency. Due to the limitations of space and budget, small and medium-sized printing enterprises find it difficult to afford the purchase and maintenance costs of multiple specialized equipment. According to the statistics of Print Tech Global Stats, a global foreign trade data platform for printing equipment, the global foreign trade order volume of multi-functional printing equipment increased by 45% year-on-year in the first half of 2025. Among them, the demand growth rate of offset and rotary transfer equipment exceeded 82%, and the market share of Europe and America reached 62%. The growth rates of emerging markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East reached 90% and 95% respectively.
Market demands in different regions present distinct characteristics: In Europe and America, emphasis is placed on "quality and environmental protection", giving priority to purchasing dual-purpose transfer equipment with high resolution and low VOCs emissions. Strict requirements are imposed on CE and UL certifications as well as energy consumption standards, with the purchase volume accounting for over 65%. In Southeast Asia, focusing on "cost-effectiveness and multi-scenario adaptability", plastic packaging and daily-use ceramic enterprises have purchased a large number of dual-purpose equipment, with order volumes increasing by 92% year-on-year. Driven by the gift and food processing industries, the Middle East region has a strong demand for circular and curved surface printing, and the procurement growth rate of dual-purpose transfer systems has exceeded 98%. Data from a certain cross-border B2B platform shows that in the third quarter of 2025, “Flat circular transfer printing machine”“Dual-purpose printing equipment”“Dual-use transfer printing system” The search volume for keywords such as these increased by 360%, 340%, and 350% respectively year-on-year. The proportion of purchase inquiries from Germany, the United States, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates exceeded 85%, among which the purchase demand from the food packaging and gift industries was the most prominent, with the order volume increasing by 270% year-on-year.
Previously, we used two devices to print labels on flat plastic bags and round beverage bottles respectively. The devices occupied over 50 square meters and required an additional two operators. After switching to dual-purpose transfer equipment, one device can complete all processes, reducing the occupied space by 60%, lowering labor costs by 50%, and increasing production efficiency by 30% instead. Thomas Miller, the factory director of a certain packaging and printing enterprise in Germany, said. Industry analysts predict that the global foreign trade market size of dual-purpose flatbed and circular transfer equipment will exceed 5 billion US dollars in 2025, and the average annual growth rate over the next three years will remain stable at over 65%, making it a core growth category in the foreign trade of printing equipment.
Analysis of Core performance advantages: Building a Competitive barrier in Foreign Trade
The flat and circular dual-purpose transfer equipment has been able to quickly break through in the global market, which is attributed to its all-round breakthroughs in functional integration, printing quality, efficiency and energy consumption, and operation adaptability, fully meeting the strict standards of overseas printing enterprises.
Seamless switching between flat and round scenarios, covering all types of printing needs
The equipment innovatively adopts a "modular structure design", achieving seamless switching between flat and circular curved surface printing. It can adapt to workpieces of different shapes without complex modifications
Flat printing mode: Compatible with workpieces such as plastic bags, paper boxes, metal plates, and glass planes. The printing area covers 300mm×500mm to 600mm×1200mm. It supports both single sheet and roll-to-roll feeding methods, and can meet the batch printing needs of food packaging, posters, stationery, etc.
Circular printing mode: Compatible with cylindrical workpieces with diameters ranging from 30mm to 200mm (such as ceramic cups, metal cans, plastic bottles), supports automatic centering and rotational positioning, and the printing height is adjustable (50mm to 300mm), suitable for curved surface printing scenarios such as thermos cups, beverage cans, and perfume bottles.
Switching efficiency: Switching between flat and circular modes only requires the replacement of dedicated fixtures (equipped with a quick snap-fit structure), with a switching time of no more than 5 minutes. Compared with the traditional two-device switching, it saves over 90% of the time, making it particularly suitable for the production of multi-category and small-batch orders.
Third-party test data shows that the printing speed of the equipment can reach 150 pieces per hour in the flat mode (for a 300mm×500mm format), and 120 pieces per hour in the circular mode (for workpieces with a diameter of 80mm and a height of 150mm). Moreover, the printing accuracy remains within ±0.1mm in both modes It fully meets the high-end printing demands. "At our ceramic cup factory in Indonesia, we use this equipment to produce both flat coasters and round mugs simultaneously. We can complete the printing of 3,000 sets of products every day. Previously, with two machines, we could produce up to 2,000 sets a day. The order delivery cycle has been shortened from 7 days to 4 days." " Rahman Saputo, the purchasing director of a gift company in Indonesia, said.
High-definition printing quality and industry-leading color reproduction
The equipment adopts "high-precision transfer technology + imported core components" to ensure accurate printing quality and long-lasting colors.
Transfer technology: Equipped with dual systems of thermal sublimation transfer and water transfer, the resolution in thermal sublimation mode reaches 300dpi-1200dpi, supporting 16.7 million color reproduction, with a 25% increase in color saturation compared to traditional equipment, and is compatible with materials such as textiles, ceramics, and metals. The water transfer printing mode supports complex texture printing (such as wood grain, marble grain), with pattern adhesion reaching ISO 2409 standard level 1 (no peeling in the cross-cut test), and the wear resistance is ≥500 times (under 500g load), suitable for curved surface workpieces such as plastic and glass.
Core components: It adopts imported servo motors from Japan to control paper feeding and positioning, with an error of ≤0.05mm. Equipped with the same heating roller as Heidelberg in Germany, with a temperature control accuracy of ±1℃, it avoids local overheating causing pattern discoloration. The imported silicone rubber transfer wheel has a stable elastic coefficient, ensuring uniform printing pressure on both flat and curved surfaces, with no missed printing or double images.
In practical applications, the food packaging labels printed by the equipment can be stored at room temperature for six months without color fading. The patterns on the ceramic cups have been repeatedly soaked in boiling water at 100℃ without any peeling off, fully complying with the safety standards for food contact materials in Europe and America (such as FDA, EU No. 10/2011). We printed circular cup body patterns for a certain coffee brand in the United States. The color reproduction of the equipment is consistent with that of imported high-end equipment, but the procurement cost is only 60% of that. Currently, we have become the core equipment supplier of this brand. Mr. Wang, the technical director of a printing equipment enterprise in Guangdong, said.
High-efficiency and energy-saving design reduces the production costs of enterprises
In response to the dual demands of overseas enterprises for energy consumption and efficiency, the equipment has achieved breakthroughs in production capacity and cost control:
High-efficiency production: Supports continuous 24-hour operation, with an average time between failures (MTBF) of ≥ 5,000 hours, which is 30% higher than that of traditional equipment. Equipped with an automatic feeding and receiving system, roll-to-roll printing in flat mode can achieve unmanned operation. A single person can manage two devices simultaneously, increasing human resource efficiency by 100%.
Energy conservation and consumption reduction: By adopting variable frequency heating and intelligent temperature control technology, the standby energy consumption is reduced by 40%, and the power consumption per hour during normal operation is only 1.2kW, saving 25% compared with similar equipment. There is no VOCs emission during the thermal sublimation transfer process, and no additional environmental protection treatment equipment is required. It complies with the EU REACH regulation and the US EPA environmental protection standards, helping enterprises reduce environmental protection investment.
A printing enterprise in Southeast Asia calculated that after using this equipment, the monthly electricity bill was saved by approximately 2,000 US dollars, the equipment depreciation cycle was shortened from 5 years to 3 years, and the return on investment increased by 40%. "At our plastic packaging factory in Vietnam, the monthly electricity bill for the previous three traditional machines was 15,000 US dollars. After replacing them with two dual-purpose transfer printing machines, the electricity bill dropped to 8,000 US dollars, and we also reduced one operator. The overall cost savings exceeded 10,000 US dollars per month." " The owner of a packaging enterprise in Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Cheh, provided feedback.
Intelligent operation and safety design, adapted to the needs of global users
The equipment fully takes into account the habits of overseas users in terms of operational convenience and safety
Intelligent operation: Equipped with a 10-inch touch screen, it supports multi-language interfaces (English, German, Spanish, Arabic, Indonesian, etc.), and the operation steps are visualized. Beginners can operate independently after one day of training. Built-in order management system, capable of storing over 1000 printing parameters. The same order can be called up with one click, reducing repetitive debugging time. Supports remote diagnosis (via 4G/Wi-Fi), overseas technical teams can troubleshoot faults in real time, and the repair response time is shortened to within 4 hours.
Safety protection: Complies with CE, UL and ISO 12100 safety standards, equipped with emergency stop button, high-temperature protective cover and leakage protection device. The temperature in the contact area of the operator is ≤40℃ to avoid the risk of scalding. The noise level of the equipment during operation is ≤70dB, meeting the noise standards of European and American workshops and improving the working environment.
Our German factory has several foreign employees. The multi-language interface and remote diagnosis function of the equipment have solved the problems of operation and maintenance. In the past year since its commissioning, there has been no malfunction caused by operational errors, and the equipment utilization rate has remained above 90%. Anna Costa, the operation and maintenance supervisor of a certain printing group in Germany, introduced.
The application of foreign trade in multiple fields has been implemented, and global cooperation cases have emerged frequently
With the comprehensive advantages of "dual-purpose for flat and round printing, high definition and high efficiency, energy-saving and intelligent", the equipment has been widely applied in the core fields of global printing and has become the "production upgrade choice" for different industries.
In the food packaging industry, we have provided dual-purpose transfer printing equipment for enterprises such as Bosch Packaging of Germany and Tetra Pak of the United States, printing flat packaging bags and round can labels. The equipment is compatible with various packaging materials such as PET, PP, and aluminum foil. After a certain German food enterprise applied it, the packaging production efficiency increased by 35% and the order delivery cycle was shortened by 40%. In the gift industry, we provided equipment for a large gift group in Indonesia and a supplier of the Dubai Gift City in the United Arab Emirates, producing flat stationery and round insulated cups. The heat sublimation transfer patterns were vivid and colorful. The monthly sales volume of a certain Indonesian gift enterprise increased from 50,000 pieces to 80,000 pieces. In the home furnishing industry, we provide equipment for Italian furniture brands and Malaysian ceramic enterprises to print flat tile stickers and round ceramic vases. The water transfer printing texture is very realistic, and the product premium rate has increased by 20%. In the daily chemical industry, we have provided equipment for LG Household & Health Care in South Korea and L 'Oreal in Thailand to print flat shampoo packaging boxes and round cosmetic bottles. The patterns have strong adhesion and meet the long-term storage requirements of daily chemical products.
Global cooperation continues to deepen: Recently, Chinese printing equipment enterprises signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Heidelberg Printing Machinery Company of Germany to jointly develop high-end dual-purpose transfer printing equipment, with a planned annual supply of 1,000 units, covering the European market. We signed an annual purchase agreement with a packaging giant in the United States, with an order amount of 30 million US dollars, specifically for the supply of flat and circular dual-purpose transfer printing systems. The economic equipment launched for small and medium-sized enterprises in Southeast Asia has entered the markets of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries, with monthly sales exceeding 500 units.
The direction of foreign trade upgrading: Customization and global service
To further capture the global market, the equipment is upgrading from "universal models" to "customized + global services", precisely matching the demands of different countries and industries:
In terms of customization, we provide exclusive solutions based on the characteristics of different industries: We have developed "anti-scratch printing modules" for the food packaging industry to enhance the wear resistance of labels. We have launched a "small-batch quick order change version" for the gift industry, reducing the order switching time to just 3 minutes. Customize "explosion-proof equipment" for the daily chemical industry, which is suitable for flammable environments such as alcohol and fragrance. At the same time, it supports personalized customization of equipment size and transfer systems, with a minimum order quantity as low as 10 units, meeting the bulk purchasing needs of small and medium-sized customers.
In terms of globalizing services, a "global service network" has been established: overseas warehouses have been set up in Chicago, USA, Frankfurt, Germany, and Jakarta, Indonesia, with common spare parts delivered within 48 hours. Form a multilingual technical service team to provide 24-hour online support and on-site maintenance services. We launched the "Equipment Training Program" to provide operation and maintenance training for overseas customers and issue internationally recognized technical certificates. In addition, the equipment offers a one-year warranty for the entire machine and lifetime maintenance services, significantly reducing the usage risks for customers.
Industry insiders say that the flatbed and circular dual-purpose transfer equipment, with its core advantages of "multi-functional
integration, high-quality output and low-cost operation", is becoming a "new growth engine" for China's printing equipment foreign trade. With continuous technological innovation and the improvement of the global service network, this equipment will achieve breakthroughs in more industries, helping Chinese printing equipment enterprises establish a brand image of "high cost performance and high reliability" in the international market, and promoting the global printing industry to develop in a more efficient, environmentally friendly and flexible direction.
