German speciality chemicals company Evonik Industries has invested an undisclosed amount in an Israeli start-up which offers new digital printing technology for packaging. Evonik said Velox Digital could offer “mass-production flexibility” — a printing process that allows “high-volume quantities decoration at competitive cost, while also enabling efficient small-series projects.”

Velox is based in Rosh HaAyin, Israel, and possesses new digital printing technology for “high-speed photo-quality” printing on metal, plastic or glass packaging, either for extremely small volumes or for large-scale industrial projects. Started in 2012, the company has developed proprietary direct-to-shape digital (DTS) inkjet technology based on formulated inks especially for digital printing on metal, plastic and glass.

The inks, according to Evonik, offer “an extremely wide range of realistic colours and embellishment effects applied with superior properties.”

Velox is already offering decoration systems for cylindrical containers such as plastic tubes and aluminum aerosols.

“Digital printing opens up new design opportunities in the packaging industry and allows industry players to distinguish themselves from the competition in new ways. We’re glad to be working with Velox to develop perfectly tailored additive solutions for this growing market,” commented Gaetano Blanda, who heads the coating additives business line at Evonik.

Velox will initially use the newly available capital to drive technology development and marketing for additional printer systems and applications.

As part of its venture capital activities, Evonik plans to invest a total of 100 million euros ($123.2 million) in promising start-ups with innovative technologies and in leading specialty venture capital funds. The regional focus lies on Europe, the US, and Asia. Evonik currently holds shares in over twenty start-ups and specialty funds.