Flexo Express

6 February 2006



Industry review


Ten colour trend takes off, says W&H

A world wide move towards 10 colour CI flexo printing continues unabated, says Windmöller and Hölscher. "In North America, for instance, more than 50 per cent of up-market CI presses are already 10 colour, with a similar growing trend also being observed in Europe, where they currently have a one-third share of the market segment."

The company now offers its direct drive Primaflex CM also as a 10 colour version – the Primaflex CM 10. Its Astraflex and Novaflex presses are also optionally available with 10 colours.

With a maximum print repeat of 800mm, the Primaflex machine is available with printing widths of 1,000mm and 1,270mm. Optional speeds are 300m/min or 400m/min. Printing decks feature diaphragm pumps; the Turboclean wash-up system can be incorporated as an option. The Primaflex CM 10 can work in conjunction with all commonly used W&H winders for reel diameters between 800mm and 1,300mm.

Sleeve changes for makeready of the next print job are achieved through easy to handle plate cylinder and anilox bearings on the operator side, resulting in short set-up time and notably increased effective up-time of the machine, says the company.

It adds: "In designing the press prime consideration was given to ease of operation and access, especially unobstructed access from the operator side to the clearly arranged components of the colour decks. Access to the drying air nozzles is made easier by a catwalk in front of the drying tunnel."

"We are convinced that with the Primaflex CM 10 we will continue on the road of success we embarked upon with the CM 8, of which more than 40 have been sold since drupa 2004," says Ulrich Harte, in charge of marketing and business development for printing and finishing machines. "With this new 10 colour flexo press, we are now able to address a customer group we have been unable to serve."

QA flexo press success in America

Brady, of the USA, has installed a FlexiProof 100 colour communication system from UK based sample preparations system and coating technology specialist RK Print Coat Instruments. Another North American company, Imerys', has also taken delivery of a FlexiProof.

RK's managing director Tom Kerchiss says: "These recent orders, from companies operating in such apparently dissimilar sectors, shows that there is a demand for this equipment across all areas, from label printing to ink manufacturing, and from aseptic package printing to paper/film/foil manufacturing and converting. It also underlines the growing influence of flexography as a print process of choice."

Brady, of Milwaukee, employs more than 3,400 people in plants throughout the globe and manufactures labels, signs, printing systems, label application and data collection systems as well as die cut materials, software and safety devices for industries ranging from telecommunications to the education market.

Imerys' produces kaolin and carbonates (pigments) for paper. With over $900M in annual sales Imerys' products are used by paper producers to help differentiate products. "It's highly likely that Imerys' will use its FlexiProof for a variety of quality control purposes, for example, to determine interaction between formulations/substrates and printability testing - gloss, scuff resistance, run resistance and durability," says Tom Kerchiss.

The FlexiProof 100, a scaled-down, but exact version of a conventional flexo press, has a claimed maximum speed of 100m/min. The system uses a doctored ceramic anilox roller and photopolymer printing plate.

3M claims it has the edge

A new photopolymer plate primer from 3M is said to eliminate edge lift without bulky secondary adhesives or tapes.

Designed to work with 3MT Cushion-MountT Plus flexographic mounting tapes, the primer is claimed to ensure superb plate edge adhesion even with small diameter cylinders and thick plates. The product helps printers to eliminate waste and loss of productivity caused by plate edge lift, which can occasionally occur with any plate mounting medium, when working with difficult mounting configurations caused by small cylinder diameters or thick plates, says 3M.

Packaged in a hand held dispenser, an even, narrow line of the photopolymer plate primer can be applied "in seconds" to the edges of the plate, if edge lift is considered a risk.

Adhesion at the plate edge is attained by the specially developed adhesive used on Cushion Mount Plus tapes. This prevents edge lift without disrupting the flat mounting, quick installation and easy removal of the tapes, according to the company.

Three in a row at Superior and Masterpress

A third Gidue press has been supplied to Superior Labels, of Boston, UK, by UK agent AB Graphic International. And the Italian press manufacturer has supplied Bialystok, Poland, based Masterpress with a third Combat UV flexo press for printing and converting of films.

Adding to the previously installed eight and six colour Combat presses at Superior, the new Combat 370, equipped with four UV flexo printing heads will meet growing demand for the company's high quality labels in the food, beverage and industrial markets.

States production director Vince Reid: "In addition to the obvious compatibility of tooling, we were very impressed with the productivity and ease of use of the first two Gidue presses; the decision to purchase a third was straight forward. The user friendly design of the print heads means makeready tasks are very much operator assisted. Both management and operational personnel have been impressed with the ability of the Combat presses to hold excellent register even at high speeds," he states.

Three years after it was established, Masterpress invested in a flexo printing facility to take advantage of the rapidly growing demand for packaging in the post-communist Polish economy. The company now manufactures products for leading brands in the local and international cosmetics, chemicals and food markets.

It worked closely with Rotary Die, of Warsaw, the Gidue agent in the region. Investment in two Combat 370 UV flexo presses followed in 2003, when the company also invested in a complete turnkey production line for shrink sleeves in PVC, PETG, and OPS.

Masterpress now has three 370mm wide Combat flexo presses fitted with UV and screen printing capability. One is used for self adhesive labels and two are equipped with chill drums to permit the production of shrink or wrap around sleeves and films.

Bopack rates RCS "Ferrari" of narrow web

In a move described by its European operations director, Philippe Capoen as "stretching the limits of flexography", the Bopack Group has installed one of Gallus' RCS 330 lines at its production plant in Rouen, France. The fully servo driven and controlled machine has eight print stations that can be used all flexo, or in combination with two interchangeable screen heads.

Since coming on stream commercially, the Gallus has allowed Bopack to produce jobs flexo that could previously be handled only by letterpress, according to Philippe Capoen.

Described by Bernard Beauchamp, production manager at the Rouen plant, as "a true operators' machine with great ergonomics", the RCS is seen as the way ahead for the company, which currently has 70 narrow web presses from various manufacturers spread around its plants, serving more than 3,000 customers. Already producing at twice the average output of other flexo machines in the group, the Gallus offers both better flexibility on short runs and better efficiency on long ones, where its outright speed is no barrier to top quality printing, according to Bernard Beauchamp.

Production at the Rouen plant centres on toiletries/cosmetics and food, with a dedicated and separate pharmaceutical section. Currently running 60:40 paper to filmic substrates at Rouen, the new Gallus is being targetted at 30 micron work, where its ability to hold tight register at high speed is seen as a useful market lead. Typical work at present sees complex graphics with special colours being run in high volume.

Chosen for its ease of makeready and speed of change-over, the RCS is described by Philippe Capoen as "the Ferrari of narrow web flexo presses - what we have to ensure is that we have enough Michael Schumachers to push it to its limit, and that our pit stops are as slick as Ferrari's!" Crucial to this is the control and flexibility given by the servomotors that reduce operator fatigue and keep substrate waste to a minimum. Rated at 160m/min, Bopack regularly runs its RCS at 130m/min without any loss of quality which, according to Bernard Beauchamp, is up to twice the average of other presses on-site.

Corrugated productivity increased

In-line manufacture - printing and die cutting in a single pass - is very productive, making it possible to produce finished corrugated packaging, just in time, and to remove intermediate stocks, says Bobst.

Its Masterflex-L printing press offers vacuum transport with drive rollers; fixed, modular, print units with internal operator access for change-over on the fly; independent drive, allowing the correction of print length and motorized correction of bias.

Innovations include a high speed belt feed, which allows the correction of the sheet edge position to ensure the first colour is correctly positioned, claims the company. The system eliminates board crush. And an inking system with automatic wash-up is said to bring significant savings in both ink and water. Anilox change has been robotized. To put the press in line with die cutting, Bobst has up-rated the SPO 160-APR matic to 7,000sheetsheets/hour.

Soma suits label specialist

Aluprint, of Vrutky, Slovakia, is one of the first companies in Eastern Europe to invest in Soma's CI UV flexo press technology, with the installation of a Mini 80-8-UVG model. The eight colour, 800mm wide press is one of five UV flexo models recently supplied in the region by the Lanskroun, Czech Republic, based flexible packaging press specialist.

Aluprint already prints with sheet-fed, web offset and UV flexo label presses and took a decisive step in selecting a mid web CI, UV flexo, flexible packaging press to expand its operation. The company prints a range of products from commercial printing, business forms and cartons to peel-off, scratch-off, wraparound and thermochromatic labels with a variety of in-line printing, decorating and finishing combinations.

Labels for the food and beverage industry are printed on white, metalized and transparent PP films for roll to roll label production; PVC shrink films for sleeves and transparent polyester films for wraparound sleeves. Aluprint supplies international companies such as Coca Cola and Lowenbrau, as well as well known brands in the Eastern European domestic market.

Comments general director Ing Ludivit Pauliny: "We purchased the press to enlarge our capacity in UV flexo technology with a wider web size. We use photopolymer plates with 60 line screens and are able to print down to a three per cent dot on the Soma. We print 20-25,000 runs and the press enables us to compete in the gravure market with comparable quality on shrink sleeves at a lower cost price."

The Mini press specification includes the company's own central drum thermal stabilization system to assist in managing heat issues when running extensible films. Gearless servo driven operation gives enhanced registration and precise plate pressure, and provides a wider range of repeat capability, says the company.

Economic yet high tech specification ensures deal

Leading Hungarian yogurt lid producer Avipak was close to signing a contract with another press manufacturer last year when newly appointed Edale agent Partners Kft presented a Beta press proposal followed by a demonstration at the Romsey, UK, showroom. Avipak then switched its choice to the Beta.

Owner Csaba Somogyi explains: "I knew of Edale for many years, but did not expect the modular Beta to be such a versatile, flexible, high quality, modern design press. Partners Kft is well experienced in this field, including the prepress side of flexo which is key to achieve the highest possible print quality. So it was an easy decision to change our contract, which saved us money for the same high technical specification."

EFTA news

Bookings are now being taken for the Annual Gala EFTA Print Awards Dinner. This year the event is being held on March 15 at the Hilton Metropole NEC. "It's an opportunity to see the best in print that flexography can offer as well as networking with old and new friends," says managing director Lesley Hide. The dinner will culminate in the awards presentation – hosted by Steve Rider. Tables of 10 at £1,350 or individual places at £135 can be booked through EFTA on +44 (0) 1458 241455 or email Lorraine Thyer on admin@efta.co.uk for a booking form.

EFTA is continuing its hands on Flexo Training Courses at the National Print Skills Centre in 2006. The Level 2 course covers the essentials of flexo – including an understanding of inks, anilox, plates and tapes, together with an introduction to repro. Practical skills including plate making, plate mounting and printing are undertaken. The course is examined and students will gain EFTA accreditation depending on the grade they achieve during the course. The four-day course will run on March 26-31, June 27-30, and September 26-29 . Fee (including all training, accommodation and meals and detailed manual) is £780 + VAT for EFTA members and £1,050+ VAT for non members. The Level 3 course builds on the knowledge obtained during Level 2, but concentrates on fingerprinting and fault finding. Again, industry experts are present to ensure delegates receive the best possible tuition, says EFTA. This course will run on November 7-10. Cost is £950 for EFTA members and £1,300 for non members. In addition, EFTA can offer a Level 1 course in-house, where employees can gain an appreciation of the flexo process. Experience has shown this is a particularly cost effective method training planners, sales administrators and other support personnel.

Late last year, EFTA launched a one-day workshop on Waste Minimization. Over 30 people attended the first two workshops, reports Lesley Hide. "With raw material prices increasing significantly as well as major increases in utility costs and changes to Waste Disposal regulations, the need for companies to minimize their waste in all forms is greater now than ever. It is generally reckoned that waste is costing companies in excess of four per cent of their annual turnover – this is far greater that most organizations recognize. A one per cent reduction will substantially increase most companies profits. But a systematic methodology is necessary for this to be achieved. In producing this workshop, EFTA has been able to distil a number of tools and techniques, which, if implemented, are guaranteed to help companies reduce their waste." During 2006 workshops will run on April 26 in Leeds, June 22 in Wigan, September 7 in Coventry and November 2 in Telford. Alternatively, the course is offered to companies in-house. The cost is £85 per person for EFTA members and £110 for non members.



Contacts

Bobst Tel: +41 32 644 23 09 Edale Tel: +44 (0) 1794 524422 EFTA Tel: + 44 (0) 1458 241455 Gallus Tel: +41 71 242 86 86 Gidue Tel: +39 02 966 8181 RK Print Coat Instruments Tel: +44 (0)1763 852187 Soma Engineering Tel: +420 465 350 825 3M Tel: +44 (0) 870 6080050 W&H Tel: +49 (0) 5481 140




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Bobst
Edale
EFTA
Gallus
Gidue
3M
RK Print Coat Instruments
Soma Engineering
W&H

Eliminating edge lift Eliminating edge lift
Edale’s Bernhard Grob (right) signs deal with Avipak owner Edale’s Bernhard Grob (right) signs deal with Avipak owner
Three Gidue Combat presses now in use at Polish plant ... Three Gidue Combat presses now in use at Polish plant ...
Production manager Bernard Beauchamp (front left) with European operations director ... Production manager Bernard Beauchamp (front left) with European operations director ...
Bobst's Masterflex Bobst's Masterflex
Set for success - the Primaflex CM 10 Set for success - the Primaflex CM 10


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