AVT wins 2026 innovation award for inspecting the part of print that is hardest to see

AVT has won the 2026 Labels & Labeling Innovation Award for its Helios Varnish Inspection Module.

The award was announced at LOUPE Americas on 15 September and is AVT’s third Labels & Labeling Innovation Award. The winning technology addresses a difficult production problem: reliably inspecting transparent varnishes and coatings while the press continues to run.

Why clear coatings are difficult to inspect

A clear varnish can add protection, contrast or a tactile finish without changing the printed design underneath it. That also makes some faults difficult for a conventional inspection system to see.

Historically, converters may have needed to stop and check the work manually or modify the coating with an additive that makes it more visible under a particular light source.

AVT says its Helios module can inspect clear matte, gloss and tactile coatings directly, without requiring the converter to alter the varnish formulation. It works alongside the wider inspection of print, barcodes, variable data and colour at full production speed.

What makes an inspection system useful

An inspection system has to detect the right faults consistently, give the operator information they can act on, and do it without slowing production.

Finding an issue earlier can reduce the amount of material produced before an operator intervenes. That can mean less waste, fewer reprints and more confidence that finished work meets the agreed standard.

The varnish module can be retrofitted, which gives suitable existing Helios installations a route to additional inspection capability without automatically requiring the replacement of the complete platform.

Supporting inspection as part of the complete line

Inspection equipment sits inside a wider production environment. Cameras, lighting, web handling, press signals, software and operator workflows all affect how successfully it performs.

Dennison Group is an AVT UK Service Partner. Our engineering experience includes AVT and GMI inspection technology as part of industrial-print installations and support programmes.

Congratulations to the AVT team on a well-deserved industry award.

Talk to Dennison about industrial print engineering

Sources: AVT wins Labels & Labeling Innovation Award; Labels & Labeling: AVT wins L&L Innovation Award