TRL takes label technology lead

Tinsley Robor Labels, one of the UK's leading label print specialists, has embarked on a major new investment programme for 2005 at its production facility in Littlehampton. Aimed at consolidating and extending the company's substantial national and international customer field, the key element to the success of the programme is one of the all-servo Gallus RCS 330 lines, which the company sees as the benchmark for technology in the field of narrow web converting.

Speaking for Tinsley Robor, managing director, Andrew Scrimgeour commented: "As part of the AGI Group, Tinsley Robor is keen to embrace new technology that will further and enhance its reputation. We pride ourselves on the high level of customer service we offer and have an excellent track record for speed of job turnaround, flexibility and innovation. The new Gallus, which cost over £1M, will help us to improve on that. We believe it to be the most advanced label printing system in the world, and coupled with the Indigo digital press, installed six months ago, gives us a tangible advantage."

Key to the Gallus machine's performance is its novel full-servo drive technology that completely removes drive shafts and, crucially, the gears that can pose marking problems. Capable of 160m/min and with an infinitely variable repeat length between 12 and 24in, the Gallus RCS 330 will handle substrates from 40 to 450 micron. The machine installed at Tinsley Robor is a combination press featuring eight UV flexo print stations and three Gallus Rotascreen units, all of which are interchangeable.

Designed as "a true operator's press" in terms of controllability, the high output of the Gallus requires a new way of production planning to maximize on its advantages. To assist Tinsley Robor crews to develop their new skills, Gallus instigated a programme of training sessions both at its St Gallen headquarters in Switzerland and on site in Littlehampton.

According to Lee Taylor, general manager at Tinsley Robor: "The Gallus is physically staggering – in fact, there is only one other such machine in the UK. It takes us into a new stage of evolution by allowing us to double, even quadruple, our volume, whilst providing an outstanding level of label quality and colour precision. Labels produced on the Gallus can match, and in some instances exceed, the quality offered by litho technology," he says.

"Makeready and change-over is also fast – typically a job that would normally take three hours to set up and waste 1,000m of material now takes just 20 minutes, and uses just 50m of material. The figures speak for themselves."

Designed with high quality, short run work in mind, the RCS press offers "the ultimate in pushbutton technology" and a variety of production facilities. In particular, cold foil, which is fast becoming accepted as significant 'added value', brings a new reduced cost dimension. With shorter set-up times, faster running speeds, and lower investment commitments than traditional hot foil stamping, cold foil opens a variety of market opportunities that have previously been closed. It is particularly relevant to toiletries, cosmetics, and high end food packaging, where added 'shelf appeal' is seen as crucial to sales figures.

Speaking for Gallus Group UK, who installed the press at Tinsley Robor's plant over the Christmas/New Year shutdown, managing director Claus Nielsen states: "The RCS series is the sum of our long experience in narrow web converting. It utilizes the most innovative technology to provide the ultimate in production flexibility in one pass, and makes significant contributions to cost savings through its fast makeready and waste management. We firmly believe the RCS series is the most complete production tool available for label converters in today's world."

Tinsley Robor works with virtually every business sector, ranging from the food industry to media packaging, and from cosmetics to pharmaceuticals. Lee Taylor comments: "Well known brands such as The Body Shop, Dairy Crest, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount and Universal tell one part of the story, but the company also prides itself on the ability to look after smaller niche companies, with less ambitious print runs."

A diverse machine base, state of the art digital technology, the latest Gallus RCS 330, combined with industry expertise, training and development are said to place Tinsley Robor at the forefront of label production. In addition to serving the traditional label markets, the company supplies creative CD and DVD packaging. Part of AGI Media, the company is predicting a growth in turnover in the media/entertainment sector from a 2003 figure of 15 to 30 per cent for 2005.

AGI Media, a division of MeadWestvaco's Consumer Packaging Group, has been supplying the audio, video and multimedia markets for more than 30 years. Inventor of The Digipak System, AGI designs and produces paper, plastics and paperboard packaging for media products.

MeadWestvaco, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut, is a global producer of packaging, coated and speciality papers, consumer and office products, and chemicals. The company operates in 29 countries and serves customers in nearly 100 nations.