Greg Hrinya10.28.14
Prati, a finishing machine manufacturer, hosted a number of international label converters in its showrooms throughout the event.
Many of the converters, who were visiting the Faenza site for the first time, were given a technical introduction and tour of Prati’s demonstration center. Once there, they had the opportunity to witness Prati’s latest machinery designed to meet the demands and requirements of label and flexible packaging printers.
The company has designed many of its machines through customer collaboration. Troubleshooting issues have allowed Prati to study and implement the optimal solutions to meet its customers’ product requirements.
The event focused on automation and all of its practical aspects, including printed reel control and finishing, maximizing productivity, quality control, service, and ROI enhancement.
The machinery presented was hailed by Prati as the most modern and advanced in the industry, leading to positive visitor feedback. “It is good to see how enthusiastic a company it is,” said Ewifiewanty Tjhin, director at PT. Cahaya Jakarta. “We enjoyed the stay and thank them for their excellent introduction to the product and company.”
“It was a pleasure to visit Prati with some of our customers, and I feel sure we will experience more success due to the customers passing on their thoughts and opinions of Prati to others,” added James Rodden, managing director, Gallus Australia.
The event also allowed Prati to unveil its new finishing line for in-mold labeling (IML), the ALHENA IML. This line can accommodate monolayer and cardboard, as well as multi-laminated lamitubes and plastics, aluminium, thermoformed packaging and labels. In order to demonstrate the product’s capabilities, two machines were allocated to produce different jobs.
ALHENA is a fast, reliable, flexible and easy-to-operate machine, According to Prati, and is ideal for converters who want to achieve a fast ROI while approaching new market challenges in the growing IML sector, especially when compared to conventional labels that employ water-based adhesives.
Prati Sales Manager Chiara Prati dubbed the next machine, the OMNIA SATURN, as “the Queen Machine.” As the name implies, the OMNIA SATURN is an “all-in-one” system for finishing self-adhesive labels, IML, unsupported films, paper glues and more. It can be employed as reel-to-reel, reel-to-sheet, and reel-to-label, and the technology is designed for short runs and digital samples. With a single investment, the printer can run complex jobs, achieve high productivity and even produce cost-effective short runs.
Prati also showcased the non-stop glueless rewinder STARPlus, which is designed for companies that do not require particular inspection systems but need high productivity for jobs such as printing blank labels. Visitors witnessed fast changeover times in three minutes. By not having to fit and glue at the end of the reel, Prati explained, this machine has proven essential in providing labels for supermarkets as thermal printing material, which is cleaner and does not create print head balance problems. STARPlus can also operate inline with control machinery. In Prati’s control room, the STARPlus has been combined with the Jupiter, the company’s system for reel controlling.
To date, 15 STARPlus machines have been installed worldwide.
Booklet printing and finishing
The VEGAPlus Booklet’s high degree of modularity has made it very popular in the industry since it was first introduced at Labelexpo 2009. The client can essentially build the machine according to specific requirements. Over 20 machine installations are available with various applications including booklet label production, which can be accomplished with hot melt or lamination that uses both leaflets with glue or staples.
The Booklet also uses a patented lamination station to correct curls, thus enabling the production of labels and sandwich coupons. Depending on the type and complexity of the label, flexo printing, diecutting, and a second rewinder shaft can also be implemented for accurate tension and register control.
After production, the next step involves booklet label finishing. Prati demonstrated this on the SATURN Bidi, which is a simpler yet equally effective machine for processing PS and BK labels as PHARMACHECK. The large diameter of the idler reels and smooth web path enable this straight and compact machine to create accurate fault placement for label replacement or waste editing.
According to Prati, it is the best piece of machinery available to international markets and offers the ideal quality/price ratio. The SATURN Bidi’s protection system with speed compensation offers 100% security while allowing the operator to replace defective labels without interrupting web flow. The camera employs a special signalling system with LED screens for displaying the precise defect point, all while allowing for fast and safe operation.
The tour around the demonstration center concluded with the presentation of the automatic cutting system, FastCut. This technology is now available for all new Prati products as it answers market calls for automating tasks and avoiding downtime during cutting.
The entire event elicited discussion and drew praise from customers spanning the United Kingdom to Tanzania.
“I would just like to thank Chiara Prati and her family for their hospitality on the recent open days,” said Grant Taylor, Graphix Labels & Packaging. “It gave me great confidence in their product, and the company’s dedication to its product is obvious.”
To view more photos, click here to open the slideshow.
Global label and package printing professionals gathered in Faenza, Italy from September 17-20 for an open house entitled, “Experience the Automation.” Many of the converters, who were visiting the Faenza site for the first time, were given a technical introduction and tour of Prati’s demonstration center. Once there, they had the opportunity to witness Prati’s latest machinery designed to meet the demands and requirements of label and flexible packaging printers.
The company has designed many of its machines through customer collaboration. Troubleshooting issues have allowed Prati to study and implement the optimal solutions to meet its customers’ product requirements.
The event focused on automation and all of its practical aspects, including printed reel control and finishing, maximizing productivity, quality control, service, and ROI enhancement.
The machinery presented was hailed by Prati as the most modern and advanced in the industry, leading to positive visitor feedback. “It is good to see how enthusiastic a company it is,” said Ewifiewanty Tjhin, director at PT. Cahaya Jakarta. “We enjoyed the stay and thank them for their excellent introduction to the product and company.”
“It was a pleasure to visit Prati with some of our customers, and I feel sure we will experience more success due to the customers passing on their thoughts and opinions of Prati to others,” added James Rodden, managing director, Gallus Australia.
The event also allowed Prati to unveil its new finishing line for in-mold labeling (IML), the ALHENA IML. This line can accommodate monolayer and cardboard, as well as multi-laminated lamitubes and plastics, aluminium, thermoformed packaging and labels. In order to demonstrate the product’s capabilities, two machines were allocated to produce different jobs.
ALHENA is a fast, reliable, flexible and easy-to-operate machine, According to Prati, and is ideal for converters who want to achieve a fast ROI while approaching new market challenges in the growing IML sector, especially when compared to conventional labels that employ water-based adhesives.
Prati Sales Manager Chiara Prati dubbed the next machine, the OMNIA SATURN, as “the Queen Machine.” As the name implies, the OMNIA SATURN is an “all-in-one” system for finishing self-adhesive labels, IML, unsupported films, paper glues and more. It can be employed as reel-to-reel, reel-to-sheet, and reel-to-label, and the technology is designed for short runs and digital samples. With a single investment, the printer can run complex jobs, achieve high productivity and even produce cost-effective short runs.
Prati also showcased the non-stop glueless rewinder STARPlus, which is designed for companies that do not require particular inspection systems but need high productivity for jobs such as printing blank labels. Visitors witnessed fast changeover times in three minutes. By not having to fit and glue at the end of the reel, Prati explained, this machine has proven essential in providing labels for supermarkets as thermal printing material, which is cleaner and does not create print head balance problems. STARPlus can also operate inline with control machinery. In Prati’s control room, the STARPlus has been combined with the Jupiter, the company’s system for reel controlling.
To date, 15 STARPlus machines have been installed worldwide.
Booklet printing and finishing
The VEGAPlus Booklet’s high degree of modularity has made it very popular in the industry since it was first introduced at Labelexpo 2009. The client can essentially build the machine according to specific requirements. Over 20 machine installations are available with various applications including booklet label production, which can be accomplished with hot melt or lamination that uses both leaflets with glue or staples.
The Booklet also uses a patented lamination station to correct curls, thus enabling the production of labels and sandwich coupons. Depending on the type and complexity of the label, flexo printing, diecutting, and a second rewinder shaft can also be implemented for accurate tension and register control.
After production, the next step involves booklet label finishing. Prati demonstrated this on the SATURN Bidi, which is a simpler yet equally effective machine for processing PS and BK labels as PHARMACHECK. The large diameter of the idler reels and smooth web path enable this straight and compact machine to create accurate fault placement for label replacement or waste editing.
According to Prati, it is the best piece of machinery available to international markets and offers the ideal quality/price ratio. The SATURN Bidi’s protection system with speed compensation offers 100% security while allowing the operator to replace defective labels without interrupting web flow. The camera employs a special signalling system with LED screens for displaying the precise defect point, all while allowing for fast and safe operation.
The tour around the demonstration center concluded with the presentation of the automatic cutting system, FastCut. This technology is now available for all new Prati products as it answers market calls for automating tasks and avoiding downtime during cutting.
The entire event elicited discussion and drew praise from customers spanning the United Kingdom to Tanzania.
“I would just like to thank Chiara Prati and her family for their hospitality on the recent open days,” said Grant Taylor, Graphix Labels & Packaging. “It gave me great confidence in their product, and the company’s dedication to its product is obvious.”
To view more photos, click here to open the slideshow.