Waterless newspaper printers around the world started their annual gettogether with an update on new sites, one of which is to host next year's conference.

This year's 14th Cortina User Workshop - held at Hubergroup in Munich - saw about 100 participants from 15 countries share best practice experience and provided an opportunity for discussions with service providers and suppliers.

Koenig & Bauer Cortina project manager Peter Benz reported on recent sales and press start- including ICP Roto on the island of La Réunion and the commissioning of the first Cortina section at Coldset Printing Partners in Paal-Beringen, Belgium, which will be the 2019 venue.

Hubergroup managing director for sales Thomas Kleps (pictured) discussed the current market situation, while Koenig & Bauer's contribution also addressed digitisation from a press manufacturer's perspective. The maker is already involved in digital decor printing, metal and glass container decorating, digital commercial printing and now digital corrugated post-printing as well as newspapers.

With the theme of 'from practice, for practice', the event's second day was one of intensive and interactive discussion, and an opportunity for information and answers to technical questions. The workshop also spotlighted new areas including predictive maintenance and the use of artificial intelligence to detect emerging faults, as well as efforts to advance environmental protection and sustainability.

Next year's Cortina User Workshop will be hosted by user Coldset Printing Partners in Paal-Beringen, from September 25-26.

Below: Cortina users gather for a group picture