11.24.14
Printability and Graphic Communications Institute’s (ICI) print workshop on November 6 in Montreal, QC, Canada. While there, guests had the opportunity to view the newly installed Omet Varyflex V2 multi-process printing machine, an industrial press that will be used for research projects.
ICI’s managers and teachers explained the technological features of the press and their possible pursuits in regards to print applications. These include printable electronics and their prototyping.The Institute will have the capability to test and develop current and future printed-electronics applications that are designed to have immediate market applicability.
New equipment aims for printing standards
The Varyflex V2, which was made in Omet’s Lecco, Italy workshop, is an inline multi-process press that has been adapted to meet the needs of ICI and its partners. The press features full interchangeability of the printing processes and tight register accuracy.
As there is no workshop size, ICI received the actual production press. It was transported by sea inside four containers measuring 14-meters long. “It’s not some laboratory equipment,” says Régent Bernier, director of ICI’s flexography department. “It’s a choice we made in the beginning. We wanted something close to the reality of printers to be able to easily transfer the prototypes.”
The press allows ICI to offer a specialized service that is tailored to printers and industrialists who want to develop new printed applications for electronics or other fields. “We wanted to get closer to manufacturing and not make something that exists only in a laboratory,” says ICI partner Michel Martineau.
Interchangeable multi-processes and register accuracy
The Varyflex’s multi-process functionality has the ability to go from silkscreen printing to gravure or flexography in order to develop prototypes.
“We needed a unique flexibility,” explains Bernier. “We can print thin plastic films or thick cardboard but also paper on the same printing press, and use three different printing processes in five stations.”
In addition to adding color to printed processes, ICI’s intended goal is functionality. “Conducting current, changing colors or ensuring a controlled release of an active substance” are examples of processes given by Christine Canet, director of ICI’s consulting services and applied research. According to Canet, the goal is to target applications that are made for rotary presses and that are both innovative and industrial.
The project’s team wants an unparalleled register positioning accuracy in order to increase the possibilities available to companies. In association with Omet, changes will be made to the printing press to reach desired results under a 3-year partnership contract. “Together, we will push register accuracy to the limit of technology,” adds Canet.
Lower production costs
Alain Bergeron, ICI’s director of business development, says that it is important to have a quick turnaround while keeping costs as low as possible. According to Canet, the savings occur because of the process’ efficiency and the Varyflex V2’s ability to print different products on the same production line on a single pass. “The printing processes allow us to put the substance exactly where it is needed,” says Chloé Bois, ICI’s projects manager.
The press will also allow for the reduction of ink consumption. The machine was developed to work with small amounts of ink, all while minimizing waste. “That’s also unique,” explains Canet. “We want people who come try it to be able to recover the unused product. It’s a huge advantage.”
Unmatched expertise
According to Canet, who is also a member of the National Research Council (NRC), the Institute’s expertise in the graphics chain is one of the project’s strengths. “There will soon be new applications, with products in development, and our role is to make them functional in reproducible conditions. We have been making tests on press for years.
“This machine shows the typical Canadian collaboration,” she adds. “Furthermore, the manufacturer, Omet, is more than just a supplier. It is also a partner that will be part of the adventure for the next three years. It is a big player that has decided to invest in modifications to enter into a highly-specialized market.”
Technology in an evolving context
The history of print is linked to societal evolution because it has allowed for the transmission of ideas, the access to information and the preservation of texts. This evolution continues with printable electronics.
“We can include ‘intelligent’ packaging,” says Canet. “It is possible to add a coat of varnish that has unique characteristics, tricks that make counterfeiting more complicated or solar panels. Everything is possible.”
An expanding global market consists of printable electronics developed with conventional printing. These include flexible solar cells, batteries, sensors, lighting products, smart packaging and displays, most of which can be produced by a combination of printing processes onto a flexible substrate.
New materials are created every day, and their characteristics offer opportunities in every technological field. Some of these products are used in printed electronics, but that first means converting them into a printable material.
ICI’s mission on the OMET press is to transform the printed electronics with ink and control all aspects of the printing processes while keeping the targeted properties. That provides ICI with a challenge. Another challenge is the need for some applications to superimpose many of those unique inks for a combination with new properties called ‘multilayers.’
Printing for the future
The Varyflex V2 opens the door for different printing possibilities, so says Bernier: “The Institute’s positioning is to be the terminal station. We want to make the industrial prototypes and help companies. In the next years we will see the development of packaging with the ability to communicate, especially with smart phones. This technology, called ‘near field communication (NFC)’, will use printed chips.”
“Omet and ICI share the same approach based on the Passion for a technology that is in real support of the converters, and the same target: Innovation to create in synergy new opportunities for the market,” adds Omet’s Alberto Redaelli.
Over 300 people attended the ICI’s managers and teachers explained the technological features of the press and their possible pursuits in regards to print applications. These include printable electronics and their prototyping.The Institute will have the capability to test and develop current and future printed-electronics applications that are designed to have immediate market applicability.
New equipment aims for printing standards
The Varyflex V2, which was made in Omet’s Lecco, Italy workshop, is an inline multi-process press that has been adapted to meet the needs of ICI and its partners. The press features full interchangeability of the printing processes and tight register accuracy.
As there is no workshop size, ICI received the actual production press. It was transported by sea inside four containers measuring 14-meters long. “It’s not some laboratory equipment,” says Régent Bernier, director of ICI’s flexography department. “It’s a choice we made in the beginning. We wanted something close to the reality of printers to be able to easily transfer the prototypes.”
The press allows ICI to offer a specialized service that is tailored to printers and industrialists who want to develop new printed applications for electronics or other fields. “We wanted to get closer to manufacturing and not make something that exists only in a laboratory,” says ICI partner Michel Martineau.
Interchangeable multi-processes and register accuracy
The Varyflex’s multi-process functionality has the ability to go from silkscreen printing to gravure or flexography in order to develop prototypes.
“We needed a unique flexibility,” explains Bernier. “We can print thin plastic films or thick cardboard but also paper on the same printing press, and use three different printing processes in five stations.”
In addition to adding color to printed processes, ICI’s intended goal is functionality. “Conducting current, changing colors or ensuring a controlled release of an active substance” are examples of processes given by Christine Canet, director of ICI’s consulting services and applied research. According to Canet, the goal is to target applications that are made for rotary presses and that are both innovative and industrial.
The project’s team wants an unparalleled register positioning accuracy in order to increase the possibilities available to companies. In association with Omet, changes will be made to the printing press to reach desired results under a 3-year partnership contract. “Together, we will push register accuracy to the limit of technology,” adds Canet.
Lower production costs
Alain Bergeron, ICI’s director of business development, says that it is important to have a quick turnaround while keeping costs as low as possible. According to Canet, the savings occur because of the process’ efficiency and the Varyflex V2’s ability to print different products on the same production line on a single pass. “The printing processes allow us to put the substance exactly where it is needed,” says Chloé Bois, ICI’s projects manager.
The press will also allow for the reduction of ink consumption. The machine was developed to work with small amounts of ink, all while minimizing waste. “That’s also unique,” explains Canet. “We want people who come try it to be able to recover the unused product. It’s a huge advantage.”
Unmatched expertise
According to Canet, who is also a member of the National Research Council (NRC), the Institute’s expertise in the graphics chain is one of the project’s strengths. “There will soon be new applications, with products in development, and our role is to make them functional in reproducible conditions. We have been making tests on press for years.
“This machine shows the typical Canadian collaboration,” she adds. “Furthermore, the manufacturer, Omet, is more than just a supplier. It is also a partner that will be part of the adventure for the next three years. It is a big player that has decided to invest in modifications to enter into a highly-specialized market.”
Technology in an evolving context
The history of print is linked to societal evolution because it has allowed for the transmission of ideas, the access to information and the preservation of texts. This evolution continues with printable electronics.
“We can include ‘intelligent’ packaging,” says Canet. “It is possible to add a coat of varnish that has unique characteristics, tricks that make counterfeiting more complicated or solar panels. Everything is possible.”
An expanding global market consists of printable electronics developed with conventional printing. These include flexible solar cells, batteries, sensors, lighting products, smart packaging and displays, most of which can be produced by a combination of printing processes onto a flexible substrate.
New materials are created every day, and their characteristics offer opportunities in every technological field. Some of these products are used in printed electronics, but that first means converting them into a printable material.
ICI’s mission on the OMET press is to transform the printed electronics with ink and control all aspects of the printing processes while keeping the targeted properties. That provides ICI with a challenge. Another challenge is the need for some applications to superimpose many of those unique inks for a combination with new properties called ‘multilayers.’
Printing for the future
The Varyflex V2 opens the door for different printing possibilities, so says Bernier: “The Institute’s positioning is to be the terminal station. We want to make the industrial prototypes and help companies. In the next years we will see the development of packaging with the ability to communicate, especially with smart phones. This technology, called ‘near field communication (NFC)’, will use printed chips.”
“Omet and ICI share the same approach based on the Passion for a technology that is in real support of the converters, and the same target: Innovation to create in synergy new opportunities for the market,” adds Omet’s Alberto Redaelli.