Harris & Bruno is bringing chamber-anilox coating to a new generation of printers with the ZRE system, ideal for the demands of the short run digital market.
Digital printing has now established itself at the heart of mainstream print across all sectors of the industry, bringing its short run on-demand capabilities to bear on a whole range of different applications.
But this super efficient and fast way to print means that the systems that work around it need to also be able to handle a wider range of capabilities. In coating, these systems need to be more reliable, efficient, and easy to run.
For many print companies looking to enter the coating market, the first option they encounter is often a lower cost roller coater. These systems may appear attractive at first, but they rely on decades old technology that can introduce inconsistency, higher labour demands, and limitations in coating performance.
Step in Harris & Bruno, which is developing a new platform designed to offer a better alternative, built specifically for B2 and A3 digital print environments. The ZRE system, which will be available in the UK through CyanX, brings the company’s world renowned chamber-anilox coating technology into a compact flood coater built specifically for printers who want professional coating results, but don’t need full automation.
Traditional challenges for roller coaters include need to maintain correct coating thickness and coverage, uneven laydown across the sheet, whilst high spots can waste coating and create visual defects, while low spots can leave areas under protected or inconsistent in appearance.
These coaters apply coating by compressing it between rollers before transferring it to the sheet. This process often requires constant adjustment to maintain the correct coating thickness and coverage.
Because the coating is squeezed between the rollers, operators frequently encounter uneven laydown across the sheet. High spots cause waste and create visual defects, while low spots can leave areas under protected or inconsistent in appearance. This means constant care from the operator who often need to adjust pressures and settings throughout a run, increasing labour requirements and slowing production.
Many roller coaters are also primarily designed to run UV coatings, which can limit flexibility and increase operational costs.
Introducing soft touch or matte brings its own set of challenges. While the first few sheets may come out smooth, the particulates will find their way into the nip, and start to collect. When this happens the particulates never make it to the sheet, and the operator is faced with a big mess to clean up.
Chamber-anilox systems however, approach coating in a completely different way. Instead of squeezing coating between rollers, the system metres a precise amount of coating through an engraved anilox roll before transferring it to the sheet.
This controlled metering delivers a uniform coating weight across the sheet and eliminates much of the guesswork involved in roller based systems. The first sheet looks the same as the thousandth sheet, creating predictable and repeatable results. Because the coating is measured rather than compressed, chamber-anilox systems also require fewer manual adjustments.
The new system for the ZRE will supports aqueous, UV, and priming coating applications while handling a wide range of substrates and sheet sizes, enhancing coating flexibility.
Chamber-anilox systems can also work well with particulates such as soft touch, glitter, and grit. This allows printers to meet the growing demand for coatings that provide a more economical and environmentally friendly alternative to lamination, as well as open up the possibilities of specialty coatings to add real value.
The ZRE platform is currently being developed to deliver these chamber-anilox advantages in a compact off line flood coating system. Even though it is a streamlined system, the ZRE maintains the same chamber-anilox metering technology for which Harris & Bruno systems are known. The heart of the system is the same that you will find on offset coating towers, and its proven off line and in line ZR and ZRW units.
The ZRE platform is designed for printers who want to add coating without sacrificing quality or operational efficiency.
By combining the simplicity of a compact flood coater with the precision of chamber-anilox technology, the ZRE provides consistent coating results, reduced labour requirements, and the flexibility to run both UV and aqueous coatings.
If you are interested in finding out more, please contact the friendly CyanX sales team on [email protected]. The company’s experienced and knowledgeable team will be able to help.
11th August 2026
