Fibertex Personal Care AG (Innowo Print) recently announced the addition of a new in-line back printing unit at its German printing plant, which has been integrated with its existing W&H flexographic printing line. This technology enables the complete in-line application of wetness indicators, surfactants, and various functional coatings on the same production line. Crucially, it achieves perfect registration with the top layer pattern without affecting subsequent processing and process compatibility, aiming to meet the growing market demand for Innowo Print's specialized solutions.
As infant care and adult incontinence products continue to evolve, brands are placing higher demands on product design and performance. Traditional wetness indicator solutions have long suffered from several drawbacks: most require offline processes, the indicators are typically simple lines, they only cover the technical area, and the process is complex and lacks flexibility, limiting design possibilities and production efficiency.
Innowo Print's new solution is changing this. With enhanced registration control and wide-format printing capabilities, brands can integrate functional elements such as wetness indicators directly into the overall design, rather than adding them as an afterthought. Carsten Brøndum Pedersen, Global Printing Director at Fibertex, stated: "This breakthrough lies in the perfect alignment of the functional layer on the back with the pattern on the front, giving customers a creative and technically precise means of expression for the first time. The system can also handle surfactants and functional coatings on nonwoven fabrics, opening up more possibilities for product performance."
This capability also unlocks a richer range of design possibilities: for example, pattern-based functional zoning, iconic wetness indicator systems, full-width graphic integration, and front-to-back design alignment. In addition to wetness indicators, the system also supports coating and functional printing on various nonwoven materials, enabling improved liquid management, targeted hydrophilic/hydrophobic areas, and other performance enhancements, all completed in a single printing process.
Pedersen emphasized: "Function and design no longer need to be separate. Wetness indicators can now be part of brand expression." Fibertex believes that the introduction of online back-side printing marks Innowo Print's move towards next-generation solutions: integrating precision, functionality, and aesthetics more naturally into hygiene products, providing the industry with a more efficient and differentiated path to innovation.