A BOBST employee has been recognized for groundbreaking new work around print efficiency: Fred Rostalski, an Engineer at BOBST Bielefeld GmbH, received the prestigious BOBST Inventor Award for the “Method for determining print parameters of a print machine and test stand” (Smart GPS 2.0) which was granted in 2021.

“We’re trying to leverage our highly innovative culture and reward proactivity in every area,” said Leonard Badet, Head of Group Technology. “It is important that our employees are experts in their respective fields, and that we tap into that expertise. The BOBST Inventor Award brings clear benefits to the business, but perhaps most importantly, it positions the group at the forefront of quality innovation, and as the leading thinker in the print and packaging industry.

“Fred epitomizes what this award is all about. He continues to go above and beyond to make things easier for printers, and his work on this patent very much falls into the category of processes and technologies that can directly boost a business. As businesses implement efficiencies, so too are they making improvements to the printing technologies that support them.

“A quick glance at the previous winners, and how their respective innovations continue to mirror the evolution of the wider industry, is testament to the talented, forward-thinking team we have in place.”

Led by Sigrid Wagner, Group IP Director, the award scheme was launched in 2020, making Rostalski the third person to have received the BOBST Inventor Award, after Nick Copeland in 2020, and Matthieu Richard last April.

The annual award is sponsored by CEO, Jean-Pascal Bobst, and aims to thank recipients for their contributions to a strong BOBST intellectual property portfolio through quality inventions, and to increase the awareness on the importance of IP.

Inventions by contracted BOBST employees and awarded a patent for the first time in 2021, were considered, with the winner adjudged to have had the greatest impact, in terms of commercial value for BOBST and its customers, technical advantages, and scope of marketability.

Rostalski’s groundbreaking invention uses high-resolution camera scans to determine information about the cliché relief and ultimately improve the quality of pad printed products. The invention allows the print image to be visualized in advance and pre-setting parameters for the press to be determined, tested and corrected.

Through this invention, the work of pre-setting the print image and correction of the printing parameters is front loaded into the plate mounting process, thus reducing press cycle times for pre-setting, and in-turn enabling greater longevity in run times.