When Harvey Ball took over the running of Reflex Flexible Packaging in Telford, UK, last year, he faced the problem of how to improve the production speed of its CI flexo press. The plant, which manufactures high quality food packaging on a range of flexible substrates, was unable to print consistently at speed on its the 4-year-old Soma press.
The solution proved to be a PrintVision Jupiter print inspection system from AVT, which now monitors the moving web and alerts the operator to any deviation from the ‘master image’. This has resulted in a “massive“ saving in wasted material for Reflex.
The fully automatic AVT system can be set up to different tolerance levels, but otherwise requires no human input or adjustment. It also includes the optional pRegister module, which automatically fine tunes the press by measuring the mis-register and making adjustments, so that all the plates are synchronised.
Key to the accuracy is a microdot that is laid down at the platemaking stage. The system automatically locates these, and sends signals to the CNC motors on the press, which adjust the plates until all colours are perfectly aligned.
Available as a part of the OEM specification, or as a retrofit, the PrintVision Jupiter system was fitted to Soma press at Reflex in between jobs, avoiding any loss of production.
“It has lifted our production speed from 80 to 300m/min, and reduced our waste levels,“ concludes Harvey Ball. “I estimate it will have paid for itself in less than 12 months.”
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