At Hunkeler Innovationdays 2025, Nick Bruno, President of Harris & Bruno, sat down with Pat McGrew to discuss a major shift happening in print finishing: how coating is replacing lamination as the preferred solution for high-speed, high-quality production. From faster run speeds, enhanced durability, higher throughput, and the ability to use more cost-effective media without compromising quality, coating offers numerous advantages for printers.
Coating: 1/10 the Cost, 6x the Speed
One of the biggest advantages? Coating costs just one-tenth of lamination while delivering a much higher throughput. Lamination requires expensive plastic films, longer setup times, and additional post-processing steps like trimming and waste disposal. In contrast, coatings apply seamlessly inline, eliminating these extra costs while maintaining a premium look and feel.
The ZRW: Unlocking High-Speed Web Coating
The ZRW High-Speed Web Coater is Harris & Bruno’s answer to the growing demand for high-speed digital print finishing on inkjet. Designed to integrate inline with digital web presses, the ZRW enables printers to apply coatings at full press speeds, ensuring that finishing never slows down production.
Bruno highlighted that many digital inks aren’t as durable as offset inks, making coating essential for protecting prints and enabling use of lower-grade papers without sacrificing quality. “Coating makes the ink pop,” he explained, giving digital prints the same brilliance and durability as offset without the extra cost.
The ZRX: Coating for Digital Embellishment
Using coatings, Harris & Bruno is also pushing the boundaries of digital embellishment with the ZRX. Combining analog coating with digital precision allows printers to digitally embellish uncoated media without lamination, and produce high-impact prints, all in one pass. This means that printers can now create premium finishes without the cost and hassle of lamination, further proving that coating is the smarter choice for modern print finishing.
The Future is Coated
As printers push for higher efficiency, lower costs, and sustainable alternatives, coating is proving to be the superior choice over lamination. With the ZRW driving high-speed web coating and Harris & Bruno leading the charge in digital embellishment, the industry is shifting toward faster, smarter, and more cost-effective finishing solutions.
Catch the full conversation with Nick Bruno on INKISH to learn more about the future of digital coatings.
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