Greg Hrinya04.16.15
Despite all the advancements in digital technology, the process still only accounts for a small percentage of the label industry’s global output. When confronted with the task of purchasing a press, converters continue to look at flexography, the technology they have relied on for decades. And while digital has experienced growth, flexo presses continue to see developments and enhancements that have contributed to their market share dominance.
Flexography offers more versatility when dealing with complex substrates and inks. A flexo press can complete jobs on substrates that include paper, film, foil and metallic materials. If a printer is using water-based, thermo, UV or solvent-based inks, the repeatability, quality and relatively quick drying all favor a flexo press.
Although it remains the primary technology for label printing, Mary Sullivan, global marketing director at Mark Andy, believes there will be changes to the process. She says, “Flexo technology continues to move toward a higher level of automation. With decreasing availability of experienced and well-trained operators, it is becoming even more important for advancing flexo technology to include more automated features to create production processes that reduce the human factor from the printing process. Machines with systems such as job save and recall functionality and automated pre-registration and running registration, as well as the use of make-ready carts to assist in making set ups and changeovers more fluid and flawless, all contribute to this more automated and standardized manner of production.
“The technology of tomorrow will allow the flexo printer/converter to manage their own destiny with fluid, interchangeable systems that meet their specific needs,” Sullivan says.
As the industry evolves, here is a look at what some leading flexo press manufacturers are currently offering.
Mark Andy
Mark Andy’s Performance Series P5 press can accomplish 4-color changeovers in three minutes and offers servo driven productivity to go along with an optional web turnbar.
Mark Andy offers its Performance Series of flexo presses in three models: the P3, P5 and P7. Each press can run at speeds up to 750 fpm and comes in printing web widths of 10", 13", and 17". The P7 also offers a web width of 20".
The P3 features immediate registration settings and the Load & Lock inking system. Its substrate range handles 2 mil – 12 pt.
According to Mark Andy, the P5 can accomplish 4-color changeovers in three minutes. The press also has waste savings and servo-driven productivity to go along with an optional web turnbar.
The P7 has multiple servos and independent web pacing. Its short web paths and ink requirements result in 50% waste savings, and the substrate range is 1 mil – 14 pt.
In response to the evolving marketplace, press manufacturer Mark Andy has ventured into the world of hybrid printing. To complement its Performance Series of presses, the St. Louis, MO-based company has released its Digital Series to offer high speed printing and increased automation.
The Digital Series has a web width of 13.25" and operates at speeds up to 250 fpm (76 m/min). The equipment also has an image resolution of 600 x 600 dpi.
“The Digital Series offers a number of inline options like no other press platform available, all end-to-end, roll-to-roll,” says Sullivan. “The unique hybrid system incorporates full color high-speed inkjet technology with traditional flexographic printing, rotary screen, foil stamping, diecutting, lamination and more.”
According to the company, 95% of the industry’s label printing remains flexo for inline roll-to-roll production. Inline features are one of the main reasons that this process remains so popular today.
“When flexo first hit the market, it was the first print technology that could easily adapt and integrate other newer ancillary items, such as foil stamping, rotary screen, insertions, multi-layers, etc.,” adds Sullivan. “This gave way to a flexo revolution for single-pass, inline production of labels, tags and film packaging.”
Mark Andy equipment and machinery support applications in printed electronics and RFID, medical adhesives and packaging, lottery tickets and gaming, life cycle and expiration of food products, and more.
Sullivan states that Mark Andy will maintain the same level of thought and innovation that helped founders Mark Andrews and Stan Avery break into the flexo industry in the 1950’s.
“The company remains on the forefront of engineering and technology trends, focusing only on those technologies that have direct commercial impact for the printers and converters who use them,” says Sullivan. “Many machine companies have come and gone over our nearly 70-year history, but Mark Andy maintains its leading position worldwide.”
www.markandy.com
Nilpeter
Nilpeter’s FB-3 press has screen and hot foil drop-in features.
Nilpeter has roughly 500 employees and is headquartered Slagelse, Denmark, with North American operations in Cincinnati, OH, USA. The company offers a wide array of machinery for converters, including flexo, gravure, offset, screen, digital and a host of decorative and finishing options. Nilpeter describes itself as “a total printing partner.”
“Our automation can be provided at various levels to fit any market need,” says Paul Teachout, VP of sales and marketing, Nilpeter USA. “We have press widths ranging from 10" to 26" with full printing and converting solutions.”
For the narrow web industry, Nilpeter is currently offering the FB-3 line of flexo presses. The FB platform has more than 1,000 installations worldwide and also features the FB-330 model. The FB-3’s printing stations include five servo motors for complete automation of adjustments. According to Nilpeter, this includes job save, job load, and job change, in addition to pre-setting, impression settings and side register load.
“The FB-3 is our dual axis servo press with total job recall capabilities allowing all previous runs to be recalled and set up with the push of a button,” adds Teachout.
The FB-3 offers other features like Nilpeter’s CleanInking system, quick-release anilox rollers and plate cylinders. This flexo press operates at speeds of 750 fpm and offers a maximum web and printing width of 13.75". The FB-330 can be either main shaft-driven or servo-powered. It includes screen and hot foil drop-in features and a splicing table with pneumatic hold down bars.
“The flexo process is still the most productive inline solution when you take into account the wide range of materials and substrates you can convert,” says Teachout. “Having the ability to convert multiple substrates with full inline converting and decorative applications reduces waste, downtime, material movement and promotes a more productive and safer working environment. The simple fact that we are a flexible process with an open architecture machine designs allows us to capture new markets.”
The Nilpeter product range offers equipment for multiple market segments, including prime tag and label, flexible packaging, pouches, as well as custom solutions. These applications are used in the health and beauty, pharmaceutical, shrink sleeve, and wine and spirits sector.
The company is also exploring growing markets like smart technology, with printed electronics and interactive packaging. “For almost a century now, Nilpeter has been the innovative leader in the narrow web printing and converting marketplace,” says Teachout. “We provide and create complete solutions that meet our partner’s requirements. We have the strength and stability of the same ownership for 95 years and we are dedicated to meeting the needs and expectations of our partners.”
www.nilpeter.com
Omet
Omet has sold over 600 flexo presses worldwide.
Flexo presses helped build Italy-based Omet, with North American headquarters in Des Plaines, IL, USA, into the company that it is today. Flexo is still the company’s preferred technology, although it does offer combination presses. Most recently, Omet added an inline digital feature to its XFlex X6 press. Offset with sleeving technology is also part of the company’s range.
Omet has had 600 flexo presses installed globally and describes itself as a “reference company for both narrow and mid web flexo, flexo/offset combination and flexo/digital.”
Omet prides itself on its flexibility with incorporating different technologies into one. Its two most recent additions are the Varyflex V2 and iFlex presses. The Varyflex V2 can be used for narrow and mid-web applications. The Varyflex can be combined with UV, water-based or solvent-based UV flexo printing, movable gravure, screen and offset printing, as well as hot or cold foil processes.
According to the company, this flexo press has been designed for folding carton converters producing for the food, tobacco, consumer packaged goods and cosmetic markets. The 430 model runs at a maximum speed of 200 m/min with web widths of up to 17".
Omet’s iFlex is scheduled for release on May 19, 2015. Raffaella Comunetti, marketing and communications specialist with Omet, describes the newest press as a “user-friendly, low budget, compact press with top-class equipment including iLaser register control, a matrix rewinder, and a special diecutting section.”
Omet has noticed several trends in the flexo industry, namely the introduction of UV technology to cure inks. There has also been a tendency to buy combination machines that accommodate a wider range of print jobs that allow converters to widen their product portfolio.
“These machines have become quite flexible and reconfigurable within seconds like the Varyflex V2 press, which is a real printing platform that can be equipped with the widest range of technologies, finishing and converting units,” says Comunetti. “Another major trend is digital inkjet combined with flexo to accommodate jobs with just-in-time delivery, prototyping and variable data. The Omet XFlex X6 with JetPlus is a perfect example of two presses in one and extreme flexibility.”
Omet’s installations produce end uses for the food packaging industry, as well as the tobacco packaging market and the lottery sector.
“Our extensive experience in inline lamination, hot melt and wet glue allows us to respond to the most complex requests and offer impressive arrays of technologies and finishing for all-in-one-pass printing,” adds Comunetti.
www.omet.com
MPS
MPS, a Netherlands-based global manufacturer of flexo and offset presses for the narrow web industry, estimates that in the label industry there were roughly 800 presses sold in 2014. Of those, approximately 250 were digital. According to Eric Hoendervangers, owner of MPS, 85% of the conventional presses were flexo.
“Flexo is still the most user friendly and predictable printing technology around,” says Hoendervangers. “Converters are looking for improvement of productivity, and also more added value and more capabilities in converting.”
Among the growing trends in flexo technology, MPS focuses on automatization. This shift continues to simplify the process, leading to easier changeovers, faster setup times and more predictable print qualities.
MPS currently offers flexo presses in three different automatization levels: flexo for commodity labels, flexo for flexible packaging (wider, faster), and flexo and offset combination.
Hoendervangers adds that MPS’ presses can utilize “multiple substrate products, special materials for specialty labels, high quality flexible packaging for small order volumes and pharmaceutical speciality products.”
The EF multi-substrate flexo press with plate rolls is the company’s newest offering. It features Crisp.Dot technology for equal pressure and APC packages to minimize waste.
Going forward, the company will explore more methods of Lean Manufacturing that are beneficial to the environment. Among them, MPS will use LED lighting and heat recovery, a process by which hot air generated from cooling installations will be re-used as heating. The exhaust will then be controlled, so as not to produce unnecessary exhaust ventilation.
In response to digital, MPS has reduced its setup time and waste on its modern flexo presses.
www.mps4u.com
Gallus
Uwe Bogl and Steve Skerrett have an ECS 340 at Rako Tamperseal.
Gallus has North American headquarters in Philadelphia, PA, USA and an international hub in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The global flexo press provider is currently offering the ECS 340 label press, of which it has sold over 280 units.
The flexo press features short web paths, servo-driven print heads and chambered doctor blades. In addition, there are optional screen printing units and register controls to improve imagery and reduce setup time and waste. There are also multiple die mount options.
Most recently, Gallus added a matrix stripper designed to prevent tears during the removal process and reduce production speeds due to matrix removal.
The company has also made a “Plus” update package available for the ECS 340. According to Gallus, it has a more powerful UV system, a secondary rail system, a software update and a new user interface.
When Rako Temperseal acquired South Africa’s first ECS 340, managing director Steve Skerrett discussed the advantages of the eight-color UV flexographic printing machine with cold foil unit for finishing.
“We can totally rely on the register accuracy of the Gallus ECS 340 for our production needs,” said Skerrett. “It allows us to focus on preparing the next job without constantly having to check the print results. What I like best about the press is its technical granite base, which means it runs extremely quietly and with little movement. This enables us to maintain excellent printing quality for our customers, despite running at the maximum production speed.”
The press prints at speeds up to 165 m/min with a web width max of 13.4". UV and hot-air drying are also available.
In 2014, Canadian-based Spectrol installed the ECS 340 to improve its production in the high-end food and beverage, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food labeling markets. “Because of our recent growth, we needed something faster and more efficient, so we looked at all the new flexo press offerings in the industry and chose the Gallus ECS 340,” said Spectrol president Ray Kapoor. “What really sold us was the press’s extremely short web path and quick set-up. Head-to-head, no other press could match it.”
www.gallus-group.com
Gidue
Gidue’s M5 is equipped with servo motors and cameras that aid in the automation process.
Italian press maker Gidue is currently offering the M5 line of digital flexo presses. According to the company, the “concept transforms flexo printing and diecutting into a digital process.”
The automated process yields 10 meters of waste and one minute for each job change. The M5 has a web width of 14.5" and operates at maximum press speeds of 200 m/min.
The unit is equipped with a series of servo motors and cameras that aid in the automation process. This digitally operated flexo press uses an expanded seven-color gamut.
Federico d’Annunzio, CEO and president of Gidue, explains that the fixed colors in the gamut allow 90-95% of the PMS pallet to be reproduced.
“You never change the ink, you never change the anilox (with digital flexo),” says d’Annunzio. “You just click a button and do the job change, click a button and do the die change; everything is automated. ... The color is made in prepress, not anymore on the press, so it’s a big change in the industry.”
The Gidue M5 uses Digital Flexo 4.0 to control quality at all speeds and DigiGap for digitally automated print and diecutting pressure.
www.gidue.com
Due to the magnitude of the decision a business faces when investing in a flexo press, it will often look at several important factors, including speed, image quality, cost, flexibility and environmental friendliness. A flexo press is primarily used for longer runs, typically many thousands and often well into millions of labels. Digital printing, on the other hand, is featured in short runs, which can range to up to 10,000 labels, but are often considerably less. A short run might only include one single print.
Flexography offers more versatility when dealing with complex substrates and inks. A flexo press can complete jobs on substrates that include paper, film, foil and metallic materials. If a printer is using water-based, thermo, UV or solvent-based inks, the repeatability, quality and relatively quick drying all favor a flexo press.
Although it remains the primary technology for label printing, Mary Sullivan, global marketing director at Mark Andy, believes there will be changes to the process. She says, “Flexo technology continues to move toward a higher level of automation. With decreasing availability of experienced and well-trained operators, it is becoming even more important for advancing flexo technology to include more automated features to create production processes that reduce the human factor from the printing process. Machines with systems such as job save and recall functionality and automated pre-registration and running registration, as well as the use of make-ready carts to assist in making set ups and changeovers more fluid and flawless, all contribute to this more automated and standardized manner of production.
“The technology of tomorrow will allow the flexo printer/converter to manage their own destiny with fluid, interchangeable systems that meet their specific needs,” Sullivan says.
As the industry evolves, here is a look at what some leading flexo press manufacturers are currently offering.
Mark Andy
Mark Andy’s Performance Series P5 press can accomplish 4-color changeovers in three minutes and offers servo driven productivity to go along with an optional web turnbar.
The P3 features immediate registration settings and the Load & Lock inking system. Its substrate range handles 2 mil – 12 pt.
According to Mark Andy, the P5 can accomplish 4-color changeovers in three minutes. The press also has waste savings and servo-driven productivity to go along with an optional web turnbar.
The P7 has multiple servos and independent web pacing. Its short web paths and ink requirements result in 50% waste savings, and the substrate range is 1 mil – 14 pt.
In response to the evolving marketplace, press manufacturer Mark Andy has ventured into the world of hybrid printing. To complement its Performance Series of presses, the St. Louis, MO-based company has released its Digital Series to offer high speed printing and increased automation.
The Digital Series has a web width of 13.25" and operates at speeds up to 250 fpm (76 m/min). The equipment also has an image resolution of 600 x 600 dpi.
“The Digital Series offers a number of inline options like no other press platform available, all end-to-end, roll-to-roll,” says Sullivan. “The unique hybrid system incorporates full color high-speed inkjet technology with traditional flexographic printing, rotary screen, foil stamping, diecutting, lamination and more.”
According to the company, 95% of the industry’s label printing remains flexo for inline roll-to-roll production. Inline features are one of the main reasons that this process remains so popular today.
“When flexo first hit the market, it was the first print technology that could easily adapt and integrate other newer ancillary items, such as foil stamping, rotary screen, insertions, multi-layers, etc.,” adds Sullivan. “This gave way to a flexo revolution for single-pass, inline production of labels, tags and film packaging.”
Mark Andy equipment and machinery support applications in printed electronics and RFID, medical adhesives and packaging, lottery tickets and gaming, life cycle and expiration of food products, and more.
Sullivan states that Mark Andy will maintain the same level of thought and innovation that helped founders Mark Andrews and Stan Avery break into the flexo industry in the 1950’s.
“The company remains on the forefront of engineering and technology trends, focusing only on those technologies that have direct commercial impact for the printers and converters who use them,” says Sullivan. “Many machine companies have come and gone over our nearly 70-year history, but Mark Andy maintains its leading position worldwide.”
www.markandy.com
Nilpeter
Nilpeter’s FB-3 press has screen and hot foil drop-in features.
“Our automation can be provided at various levels to fit any market need,” says Paul Teachout, VP of sales and marketing, Nilpeter USA. “We have press widths ranging from 10" to 26" with full printing and converting solutions.”
For the narrow web industry, Nilpeter is currently offering the FB-3 line of flexo presses. The FB platform has more than 1,000 installations worldwide and also features the FB-330 model. The FB-3’s printing stations include five servo motors for complete automation of adjustments. According to Nilpeter, this includes job save, job load, and job change, in addition to pre-setting, impression settings and side register load.
“The FB-3 is our dual axis servo press with total job recall capabilities allowing all previous runs to be recalled and set up with the push of a button,” adds Teachout.
The FB-3 offers other features like Nilpeter’s CleanInking system, quick-release anilox rollers and plate cylinders. This flexo press operates at speeds of 750 fpm and offers a maximum web and printing width of 13.75". The FB-330 can be either main shaft-driven or servo-powered. It includes screen and hot foil drop-in features and a splicing table with pneumatic hold down bars.
“The flexo process is still the most productive inline solution when you take into account the wide range of materials and substrates you can convert,” says Teachout. “Having the ability to convert multiple substrates with full inline converting and decorative applications reduces waste, downtime, material movement and promotes a more productive and safer working environment. The simple fact that we are a flexible process with an open architecture machine designs allows us to capture new markets.”
The Nilpeter product range offers equipment for multiple market segments, including prime tag and label, flexible packaging, pouches, as well as custom solutions. These applications are used in the health and beauty, pharmaceutical, shrink sleeve, and wine and spirits sector.
The company is also exploring growing markets like smart technology, with printed electronics and interactive packaging. “For almost a century now, Nilpeter has been the innovative leader in the narrow web printing and converting marketplace,” says Teachout. “We provide and create complete solutions that meet our partner’s requirements. We have the strength and stability of the same ownership for 95 years and we are dedicated to meeting the needs and expectations of our partners.”
www.nilpeter.com
Omet
Omet has sold over 600 flexo presses worldwide.
Omet has had 600 flexo presses installed globally and describes itself as a “reference company for both narrow and mid web flexo, flexo/offset combination and flexo/digital.”
Omet prides itself on its flexibility with incorporating different technologies into one. Its two most recent additions are the Varyflex V2 and iFlex presses. The Varyflex V2 can be used for narrow and mid-web applications. The Varyflex can be combined with UV, water-based or solvent-based UV flexo printing, movable gravure, screen and offset printing, as well as hot or cold foil processes.
According to the company, this flexo press has been designed for folding carton converters producing for the food, tobacco, consumer packaged goods and cosmetic markets. The 430 model runs at a maximum speed of 200 m/min with web widths of up to 17".
Omet’s iFlex is scheduled for release on May 19, 2015. Raffaella Comunetti, marketing and communications specialist with Omet, describes the newest press as a “user-friendly, low budget, compact press with top-class equipment including iLaser register control, a matrix rewinder, and a special diecutting section.”
Omet has noticed several trends in the flexo industry, namely the introduction of UV technology to cure inks. There has also been a tendency to buy combination machines that accommodate a wider range of print jobs that allow converters to widen their product portfolio.
“These machines have become quite flexible and reconfigurable within seconds like the Varyflex V2 press, which is a real printing platform that can be equipped with the widest range of technologies, finishing and converting units,” says Comunetti. “Another major trend is digital inkjet combined with flexo to accommodate jobs with just-in-time delivery, prototyping and variable data. The Omet XFlex X6 with JetPlus is a perfect example of two presses in one and extreme flexibility.”
Omet’s installations produce end uses for the food packaging industry, as well as the tobacco packaging market and the lottery sector.
“Our extensive experience in inline lamination, hot melt and wet glue allows us to respond to the most complex requests and offer impressive arrays of technologies and finishing for all-in-one-pass printing,” adds Comunetti.
www.omet.com
MPS
MPS, a Netherlands-based global manufacturer of flexo and offset presses for the narrow web industry, estimates that in the label industry there were roughly 800 presses sold in 2014. Of those, approximately 250 were digital. According to Eric Hoendervangers, owner of MPS, 85% of the conventional presses were flexo.
“Flexo is still the most user friendly and predictable printing technology around,” says Hoendervangers. “Converters are looking for improvement of productivity, and also more added value and more capabilities in converting.”
Among the growing trends in flexo technology, MPS focuses on automatization. This shift continues to simplify the process, leading to easier changeovers, faster setup times and more predictable print qualities.
MPS currently offers flexo presses in three different automatization levels: flexo for commodity labels, flexo for flexible packaging (wider, faster), and flexo and offset combination.
Hoendervangers adds that MPS’ presses can utilize “multiple substrate products, special materials for specialty labels, high quality flexible packaging for small order volumes and pharmaceutical speciality products.”
The EF multi-substrate flexo press with plate rolls is the company’s newest offering. It features Crisp.Dot technology for equal pressure and APC packages to minimize waste.
Going forward, the company will explore more methods of Lean Manufacturing that are beneficial to the environment. Among them, MPS will use LED lighting and heat recovery, a process by which hot air generated from cooling installations will be re-used as heating. The exhaust will then be controlled, so as not to produce unnecessary exhaust ventilation.
In response to digital, MPS has reduced its setup time and waste on its modern flexo presses.
www.mps4u.com
Gallus
Uwe Bogl and Steve Skerrett have an ECS 340 at Rako Tamperseal.
The flexo press features short web paths, servo-driven print heads and chambered doctor blades. In addition, there are optional screen printing units and register controls to improve imagery and reduce setup time and waste. There are also multiple die mount options.
Most recently, Gallus added a matrix stripper designed to prevent tears during the removal process and reduce production speeds due to matrix removal.
The company has also made a “Plus” update package available for the ECS 340. According to Gallus, it has a more powerful UV system, a secondary rail system, a software update and a new user interface.
When Rako Temperseal acquired South Africa’s first ECS 340, managing director Steve Skerrett discussed the advantages of the eight-color UV flexographic printing machine with cold foil unit for finishing.
“We can totally rely on the register accuracy of the Gallus ECS 340 for our production needs,” said Skerrett. “It allows us to focus on preparing the next job without constantly having to check the print results. What I like best about the press is its technical granite base, which means it runs extremely quietly and with little movement. This enables us to maintain excellent printing quality for our customers, despite running at the maximum production speed.”
The press prints at speeds up to 165 m/min with a web width max of 13.4". UV and hot-air drying are also available.
In 2014, Canadian-based Spectrol installed the ECS 340 to improve its production in the high-end food and beverage, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food labeling markets. “Because of our recent growth, we needed something faster and more efficient, so we looked at all the new flexo press offerings in the industry and chose the Gallus ECS 340,” said Spectrol president Ray Kapoor. “What really sold us was the press’s extremely short web path and quick set-up. Head-to-head, no other press could match it.”
www.gallus-group.com
Gidue
Gidue’s M5 is equipped with servo motors and cameras that aid in the automation process.
The automated process yields 10 meters of waste and one minute for each job change. The M5 has a web width of 14.5" and operates at maximum press speeds of 200 m/min.
The unit is equipped with a series of servo motors and cameras that aid in the automation process. This digitally operated flexo press uses an expanded seven-color gamut.
Federico d’Annunzio, CEO and president of Gidue, explains that the fixed colors in the gamut allow 90-95% of the PMS pallet to be reproduced.
“You never change the ink, you never change the anilox (with digital flexo),” says d’Annunzio. “You just click a button and do the job change, click a button and do the die change; everything is automated. ... The color is made in prepress, not anymore on the press, so it’s a big change in the industry.”
The Gidue M5 uses Digital Flexo 4.0 to control quality at all speeds and DigiGap for digitally automated print and diecutting pressure.
www.gidue.com
