April 2013 Flexo Mag

Asian Flexo, Gravure & Labeling April/May 2013

IST METZ presents: The new MBS®-6 Most efficient UV system of the world

Thanks to the completely new URS® Duo Reflector Geometry the MBS®-6 sets new standards. The system requires a lamp output of just 120 W/cm in order to achieve the same curing results as standard 200 W/cm UV units. The energy saved has a direct influence on electricity bills.

For further information please visit our website www.MBS-6.com.

IST METZ GmbH Lauterstraße 14-18, D-72622 Nürtingen Tel. +49 7022 60 02-0, Fax +49 7022 6002-775 info@ist-uv.com, www.ist-uv.com

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Bangkok x3

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China

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Penang

Kuala Lumpur -

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From packaging design to production to management issues, we have it all covered in one event.

Manila(2013)

So come and join Asia’s only regional packaging conference in Manila Philippines.

Hear speakers from USA, Europe, Australia and Asia, from Brand owners to users and suppliers all talking about the issues that affect our business everyday.

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It’s been 12 very successful years!

Phuket

Jakarta x2

Singapore x2

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nce onfere

Gala Awards Dinner

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Table Top Display Area

Network at the table-top display area, and talk face-to-face with industry leaders about all the issues you need answers for.

This table-top area has proven its value and is back for its 12th year!

About the market potential for packaging in the Philippines alone, As of 2011, the Philippines has become the world’s 12th most populous nation, with a population of over 94 million.

The National Statistics Office reports a simple literacy rate of 93.4% (one of the highest in the world) International Monetary Fund and the World Bank listed the Philippines as number 43 in the world, and represents a good growth market for packaging in the future.

Book Now and Stay in a 5-Star Hotel

Unbelievable valUe!

Book your conference package that best suits your needs

Conference Only

Full Package

• Conference + Table Top Entrance (2 Days)

• Accomodation + Conference

• Coffee Breaks (2 Days)

• 3 Nights Accomodation at 5 star Dusit Hotel Makati

• Lunch (2 Days)

• 3 Days Breakfast

• Evening Cocktails (2 Days)

• Full Conference and Table Top Entrance

• Gala Dinner Awards (Last Evening)

• 2 Days Lunch

US$230 per person For Group Booking 2- 4 persons US$220 per person 5- 9 persons US$195 per person 10-20 persons US$185 per person

• All Coffee Breaks • 2 Days Evening Cocktails • Award Gala Dinner and Presentation (Last Evening)

Single - Only US $700!!!

Twin Share - Only US $900 for 2 persons!!! including gov’t taxes and charges

The 2013 Conference

is sponsored by the following companies that are SERIOUS about our industry.

Platinum Sponsors Dailian International Pte Ltd

Spengler Electronic AG

Brand Sponsors Gold Sponsors

Asian Label Association

See New Products and Companies, Meet New People!

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FAX BOOKING FORM

Asian Flexible Packaging Conference, Display and Awards Fax: +65 67333586 or Call: +6567335342 Please visit: www.afta.com.sg Deadline: 1 October 2013

Name: ______________________________________________________ Job Title: ____________________________________________________ Company: ____________________________________________________ 2nd Person(For Twin Share Only) Name: ______________________________________________________ Job Title: ____________________________________________________ Company: ____________________________________________________ Address:_____________________________________________________ Country:____________________________________________________ Telephone No: ____________________ Email Address: ___________________

Fax:___________________________________________ Package Details - Please tick Please book me for the following Full Package - Single Room at Dusit Hotel for US$700 (per person) Full Package - Double/Twin Share at Dusit Hotel for US$900 (2 persons) Conference Conference Conference Conference

Only Package at US$230 (per person) Only Package - Group Booking for 2 to 4 persons at US$220 (per person) Only Package - Group Booking for 5 to 9 persons at US$195 (per person) Only Package - Group Booking for 10 to 20 persons at US$185 (per person)

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We look forward to see you at the 2013 Asian Flexible Packaging Conference, Display and Awards!

Please note that all other expenses, ie mini bar, telephone, internet charges etc. will be charged accordingly by the hotel, and must be settled upon check-out. For booking purposes, a 10% booking charge (of the total amount) will be charged to your credit card to secure the booking. If cancellation is made 1 month prior to the event, a full refund will apply. For cancellation 3 weeks before conference, the full amount of the package will be charged to the card holder, We alsO RecOmmenD tHat yOU BOOk tRaVel insURance!

Success and security for the labelprinter

www.gallus-group.com

A partner of Heidelberg

April/May 2013

Covering the Flexo, Gravure & Labeling Industries across Asia MICA(P)046-11-2010 - KDN PPS 1529/05/2012(022768)

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Thailand and India dominate AFTA Excellence Awards 2012 Wintek Labels, Bengaluru achieves HD Certification From rhetoric to reality: Sustainability and recycling in the selfadhesive label industry Tetra Pak clocks record of five-year consecutive win LABELS ENHANCE BRAND VALUES AND CONSUMER EXPERIENCE High performing products from Flint Group Flexographic Products Digital colour label press takes us to the next level in digital production Meeting demands of the Australian Wine Industry.

Thinking Outside, Inside, and All Around the Box Fuji Xerox unveils new wide-format Inkjet Printer Solving a problem in process costs for electronic components Wide range of innovative characteristics Labels: adding value to packaging KODAK FLEXCEL Direct System helps Target Sales Growth Fruit of planning Digitizing the Orient – Future-proof production capability with Gallus EM 430 S Lines Advanced Lineas Winding System, Reinventing the rewinder The importance of in-line, automated web controls L'Oréal Inaugurates the World's Largest Factory in Indonesia The Natural Solution for Confectionery Packaging Food for thought TETRA PAK completes €42 million site expansion in Singapore Toppan Printing develops a laminated packaging material for food and medicines New CDI expands Esko offerings for tag and label printers drupa continues 4-Year Cycle – length shortened to 11 Days Industry news and happenings from around the world

AFTA Pte Ltd No. 71 Geylang Lorong 23, THK Building, #07-02, Singapore 388386 Tel+65 6733 5342 Fax +656733 3586 Chairman Paul Callaghan paulftw@cpublish.com.sg Managing Director Elizabeth Liew eliew@cpublish.com.sg Editor Christel Lee editorasia@cpublish.com.sg Advertising Sales Matthew Callahan matt@cpublish.com.sg Accounts Radika PS accounts@cpublish.com.sg Chairman Judging Panel 2013 Packaging Excellence Awards Head Judge - Alf Carrigan

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

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Thailand and India dominate AFTA Excellence Awards 2012 The AFTA Excellence Awards went for its 11th run on 22 November 2012.

While the usual suspects bagged the usual accolades, one actually did the same for the fifth consecutive year. Christel Lee reports.

At Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa, some 300 guests from the flexographic industry in Asia congregated to witness not only the reinforcement of alreadyastounding standards in packaging, but also acknowledge new contenders who just might join the ranks of the elite in the game.

Alf Carrigan, Chairman of the Independent Judging Committee, shared in his opening speech: “There are significant improvements in the print qualities of entries this year.

The judges were heartened to see contenders taking more pride in their work; the time and effort spent to assess and place entries are nothing less than worthwhile.”

Thailand and India dominated the ring with nine and seven wins respectively.

India’s tightest contenders – Wintek Flexo Prints and Letra Graphix Pvt Ltd – have been vying for the top prizes for years. This time Wintek handed the Best in Show trophy to Letra Graphix.

One Indonesian company, PT Bentoel Prima, went on stage for a record five times, scooping five wins out of six – the last going to PT. Industri Pembungkus Internasional. Sri Lanka

had two winners this year – Packages Lanka and Flexiprint. The latter is the second winner from the country to bag

an award in the competition.

China’s Tetra Pak took (for the fifth time) Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Beverage Cartons and Cup category.

Paul Callaghan, Chairman of the AFTA Excellence Awards Committee, commented: “Such results reflect their commitment to print excellence and I am happy for them.”

Callaghan also took the chance to announce his impending retirement from chairing the Committee – declaring 2013 will be his last year in the game. The annual two-day Asian Flexo Conference will resume in 2013, to be held in Manila, Philippines.

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

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Wintek Labels, Bengaluru achieves HD Certification Wintek Flexo Prints, a leading Indian label printer and converter has achieved the HD Certification from Esko by upgrading its flexo equipment, software and processes to makes plates of higher quality for more consistent print than the standard digital flexo plates that it made earlier. Hoshi Deboo, President, Esko Asia Pacific conferred the HD Certification to the leading Indian label printer Wintek Flexo Prints.

Hoshi Deboo highlighted “Wintek is a valued partner which is always interested in upgrading to meet the tough quality expectations of their global customers and we are delighted to provide Wintek, Esko’s innovative solutions to meet the best in class global requirements”

seen enormous improvement in the quality of labels and most importantly achieved consistent production. Esko has been our trusted prepress partner as they connect with the needs of a printer and have the solutions to overcome the limitations in flexo printing.”

the plate, improving ink lay-down and increasing ink density on the final print.

The result is improved image richness and contrast especially helpful for reproduction with white underprints and for Pantone colors.

On this occasion, Gururaj Ballarwad, managing partner Wintek said, “Meeting the demand for high quality labels was challenging in an industry where print buyers (CPC/FMCG) are informed about what to expect in a market that is globalised. HD Flexo from Esko came in very handy to Wintek as a natural progression to the investments made in prepress few years back. We have

HD Flexo by Esko combines 4000 dpi HD optics with unique printing screening technologies to achieve sharper and more accurate imaging on CDI imaging devices. The highresolution optics deliver sharper imaging of text and lines and more clearly defined, better shaped screen dots. The higher resolution imaging on the CDI creates a textured surface on

Wintek Labels is a long time Esko customer with an Esko CDI 2530 with in-line UV curing and workflow software consisting of DeskPack, Flexotools, Plato, FlexRip that will be upgraded to Esko’s Suite 12 shown at drupa. Wintek has in addition, upgraded their DuPont flexo plate solvent processor to DuPont’s Thermal Fast processor.

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AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

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From rhetoric to reality:

Sustainability and recycling in the selfadhesive label industry Jules Lejeune, Managing Director of the European self-adhesive label association FINAT, identifies achievements so far – and issues a call to arms on the remaining challenges.

In an industry where the value chain and the master product are both complex, it is hardly surprising that developing an all-embracing programme of environmentally-friendly business activities is taking time. That said, however, in my position as Managing Director of the self-adhesive label industry association in Europe, I have seen significant advances in the last year that are delivering practical, quantifiable results that prove our industry has genuinely moved on from rhetoric to establishing a real pathway to sustainability.

FINAT has enthusiastically embraced the key role of providing its members with an information source on all aspects of environmental conformance, driven today by specialist sub-committees focussing on sustainability and recycling as well as technical issues and test methods, and industry trends, and supported by the association’s raft of industrystandard technical publications and test methods and events around Europe.

In the sustainability arena, FINAT is currently actively engaged in projects involving label release liner recycling, both paper and film; the recycling of label matrix waste into energy; solving the issues around contamination of thermoformed PET containers by self-adhesive labels; and defining the parameters for environmentallyfriendly adhesive technology.

FINAT’s partner association in the United States, The Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute (TLMI), is

also extremely active in the area of sustainability. Its LIFE (Label Initiative for the Environment) programme offers an audited business sustainability certification process tailored to the label converting industry. TLMI has also separated its focus on sustainability issues into specific task forces – with matrix waste and spent release liner (again, both paper and film) the two main targets.

With just one country to take care of, TLMI’s mission may seem simpler than that of FINAT, which mentors around 50 different sovereign states – but the distances involved in waste collection in the United States are challenging.

According to TLMI, around 270,000 tons of label matrix waste are currently generated in North America, and only an estimated 1% is recycled. A similar measurement for Europe is not

available, but I somehow doubt that the outcome would be any better.

It is also true to say that the focus on sustainability and recycling in our industry is now world-wide. The Global Label Association, L9, has unanimously committed to a reduced carbon footprint in every aspect of the self-adhesive labelling supply chain – from raw material manufacture to end-use application and spent liner recycling. The Association embraces members from Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Mexico, and New Zealand, as well as FINAT and TLMI, and is actively liaising with both brand owners and major retail groups as well as the public sector to achieve environmental sustainability for self-adhesive labelling.

This is an inspiring example of how, at a regional and local level, global goals can be pursued and achieved.

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

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Of course, as in all responsible industries, the route to success in this arena begins with lean manufacturing practices and a reduced carbon footprint. FINAT member companies – including label converters, raw material suppliers, press and auxiliary equipment and automatic label applicator manufacturers, and selfadhesive laminators – are already experts here. At all levels of the chain, reduced set-up time and material waste have already been achieved, and technology advances have delivered considerable energy savings in such areas as drying – both of labelstock during manufacturing, and inks onpress.

Digital technology advances have also streamlined pre-press activities as well as digital label print – both of which create a hugely flexible platform for label making that even enables multiple short label runs on the same labelstock to be ‘piggybacked’ on press for optimal efficiency in material, time, and energy usage. In some European countries – significantly Germany – practical financial assistance in achieving technology advances in support of sustainability is offered. Additionally, leading labelstock laminators are also offering a collection service for labelstock waste products from their converter customers.

At our recent FINAT Congress, a ‘round-table discussion’ brought together a panel of label converters from both sides of the Atlantic who all confirmed – and proved -- their commitment to grasp every opportunity to save waste, time, and cost – both for the benefit of the environment, and their businesses. It is at the converter level of the label industry that selfadhesive labels actually make their physical appearance, and are then passed on to the brand manufacturers and contract packers who will apply them. While release liner plays its part

in ensuring accurate, smooth, fast, label application at the packer’s premises, label matrix waste remains with the converter, in need of a solution that does not involve landfill.

Saying ‘no’ to landfill It is one of FINAT’s major challenges to assist converters across Europe in making sustainable use of their matrix waste. The waste-to-energy channels already mentioned are an option. In addition label matrix waste can also today be recycled into wood-plastic composite products.

However, FINAT sees its prime role today as a facilitator in creating a ‘chain of custody’ for spent release liner involving the end user. For enduser companies that choose to take advantage of it, financial payback is available from industrial recyclers

for film release liner, both PET and PP. Siliconised paper release liner, however, requires more specialised treatment. In this respect, Germany has led the way. VskE, the German label association, has actively promoted the services of the specialist recycling company Lenzing Paper Mill in Austria, working with independent facilitators

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AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

16 liner to keep the mill systems running and reduce landfill. To give an example of the challenge, the label industry is so far contributing less than 10% of the Lenzing mill’s annual paper waste intake.

Cycle4green (C4G). Together, they are actively closing the loop between converter, end user, and recycler. A regular collection rota has been created for spent release liner from end users’ packaging lines identified by converters, and who are prepared to participate in the scheme. C4G manages the logistics – collecting and delivering recyclables -and maintains the day-to-day contacts with converters and brand owners ‘customers’.

Major release paper manufacturers, too, have developed two important waste collection initiatives in central Europe. UPM offers a closed-loop system for release liner recycling in its paper production. Paper release liner is de-siliconised at UPM’s Plattling mill in Germany, and then re-used as raw material for different paper grades. This initiative is open to the whole labelling value chain, across the whole of Europe, regardless of the origin or colour of the material.

Customised liner waste collection and logistic solutions are offered, alongside the company’s labelstock waste management programme.

Most recently, Ahlstrom has announced it will collect spent glassine

Liner roll in labelling liner (supercalendered kraft paper) and recycle it into the production of the company’s specialty papers at its Osnabrück mill in Germany. Ahlstrom’s logistics partners will collect the material from brand owners or printers free of charge, provided a minimum collection quantity is met. The scheme will work across Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands.

A parallel system is in the course of start-up in Switzerland, where three leading label printers have created a ‘map route’ of their customers in the country’s industrial areas, for collection of spent liner by logistics and support partners C4G for recycling at Lenzing.

The scheme will be rolled out to smaller printers and their customers, as in Germany, in due course.

These pathways would appear to be the very best answer for reclaiming valuable spent paper release liner into new paper production: true closedloop recycling. They however face the significant challenge of moving from being an opportunity to being a widelyadopted route, achieving economicallyviable throughput volumes of spent

The long, long road to success It is here, therefore, that the selfadhesive label industry needs help from the end user brand-owning and contract packing companies who use its label products. Reaching the right people to set up liner collection is a difficult task. First, the converter or his representative needs to get ‘buy in’ from the sustainability leader in the end-user company – often a person at board level, far from the location of the packaging line the converter serves. That achieved, purchasing and packaging managers have to be convinced that there are sustainability improvements and cost savings to be made by buying into a label waste collection process – a process which involves far smaller quantities than for, eg cartonboard or plastic films. Finally, the site manager must be contacted: he is finally the person with whom to organise preparation of spent liner waste, and collection timings. This affirmation cycle can take weeks and months.

Please help!

There are, I believe, around 8,000 enduser customers of self-adhesive label converters in the EU alone. All of them have a contribution to make to improving not only the sustainability credentials of their own companies, but also that of the self-adhesive label industry. In the process, liner collection and recycling can give new life to valuable paper-based products.

On behalf of Europe’s 3000 or so self-adhesive label converters, I appeal to brand owners – especially those in high-volume market segments such as food, beverage, and personal care – to facilitate a path to spent release liner collection. FINAT is here to help identify available local pathways that answer companies’ individual needs without creating difficulty or complexity.

As raw material costs continue to escalate and the world’s natural resources diminish, this is a true opportunity to contribute to the sustainability of a leading product decoration technology.

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

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AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

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Tetra Pak clocks record of five-year consecutive win The annual Asian Flexo Excellence Awards was held in Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore on 22 November 2012. Tetra Pak’s Asian branches owned the Beverage Carton and Cups category.

In an unbeaten record for five years, the Swedish food packaging conglomerate scooped all Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Paul Callaghan, Chairman of the Asian Flexo Excellence Awards Committee, commented before some 300 guests present at the Gala: “It’s a record of five consecutive years where this company wins Gold, Silver and Bronze. It’s the only company I know with offices in Kunshan, Foshan and Beijing.”

The company’s astounding performance does not end with just their achievement in the yearly competition organised in Asia. Leah Wang, who represented the Tetra Pak Group to receive the Awards, commented: “We are extremely pleased with our results! Tetra Pak

Foshan (which won Gold) has many years of flexo print experience, we aim customer's requirement in the improvement in printing quality, through World Class Manufacturing practice.

the exhibition Hidden Heroes – The Genius of Everyday Things at the London Science Museum / Vitra Design Museum, celebrating “the miniature marvels we couldn’t live without”.

“We maintain our machines in good condition from pre-press to printing, following the process control and improve the materials like ink, plate, auxiliary equipment and tools, on line quality inspection system, resulting in our achieving good printing quality and defects reduction.”

The aseptic packaging technology has been called the most important food packaging innovation of the 20th Century by the Institute of Food Technologists and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences called the Tetra Pak packaging system one of Sweden’s most successful inventions of all time.

In November 2011, the Tetra Brik carton package was represented at

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AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

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LABELS ENHANCE BRAND VALUES AND CONSUMER EXPERIENCE Leading packaging solutions provider Payne has launched a range of holographic effect label finishes that offer a high impact and cost-effective means to integrate a high end finish to labels.

The new HoloSense effects enable eyecatching holographic-type patterns to be added to label designs, enhancing on-shelf presence and consumer appeal. They help to achieve added depth to colours and create a sense of movement that attracts attention on crowded retail shelves.

Part of Payne’s Inform product range, the HoloSense technology can be incorporated into existing labels or included as part of a new design. Five distinctive patterns are available for the surface finish – Diagonal Stripe, Raindrops, Kaleidoscope, Mini Lens and Checkerboard and these special effects can be used either as an all-over design or on selective areas of the label.

HoloSense is the first in a number of initiatives that Payne is taking in the development of label print technology which stimulates senses such as sight, touch and smell. It has been recognised that the incorporation of these types of enhancements can help to increase a brand’s impact by 70 per

cent1 – crucial in highly competitive retail environments where consumers make more than half of their buying decisions at the point of purchase.

promotes loyalty and adds value and we are building on this across our label and tape solutions at Payne to enable our customers to provide additional benefits to their consumers.”

As Payne’s managing director, Martin Dallas explains: “A label’s key role is to inform but this does not just mean practical information about a product.

It is equally important that the label helps to create or reflect brand image, raise consumer expectations and encourage purchase. It is for this reason that many of our customers are asking more of their packaging and looking at additional ways to create value and meaning for the consumer.”

Other sensory products that Payne is seeing greater interest in from customers include the variety of texturing and embossing techniques and scented labels.

“We believe a wider sensory experience is a key part in enhancing the overall consumer experience for brands,” concludes Martin Dallas.

“This

Global packaging solutions provider Payne has won a prestigious Asian Manufacturing Award 2012 for its innovative Supastrip VDP (Variable Data Print) tape.

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

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Innovative Labeling Solutions increases strategic labels and packaging runs with the HP Indigo WS6600

At a glance

Challenge

Solution

Results

Industry: Labels & Packaging Business name: Innovative Labeling Solutions Headquarters: Hamilton, Ohio, USA Website: www.ilslabels.com

• Innovative Labeling Solutions (ILS) wanted to increase productivity and reduce time and labour investments in its prepress operations, better positioning the company to work with brands as a total digital solutions provider.

• The HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press delivers better economics for highvolume production runs compared with previous generations of HP Indigo digital presses.

• The company has doubled its overall production in the last 4 years.

• With the HP SmartStream Labels and Packaging Print Server designed specifically for HP by Esko and a Management Information System (MIS) from Label Traxx, ILS has streamlined prepress and press operations.

• Jobs that took up to 8 hours of prepress labour can now go to the press in minutes.

• ILS can now print up to 182,880 linear meters (600,000 linear feet) in a single run in Enhanced Productivity Mode.

• By partnering with its clients to produce digital print packaging solutions, ILS has developed a loyal client base.

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

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High performing products from Flint Group Flexographic Products Another innovation from Flint Group, the NEW nyloflex® ACE Digital plate was recently introduced into the market with excellent reviews. Customers report that the plate runs much cleaner on press, without the need to stop for regular cleaning cycles.

Fewer press stops for cleaning result in jobs running in less time with less waste, thereby providing significant cost savings to the printer.

A printing plate that runs cleaner provides more benefits than can be seen at first glance. For example, besides reducing time and waste, NEW nyloflex® ACE Digital plates require less cleaning, which actually increases the plate life, since less cleaning results in less surface damage and less mechanical abrasion to the plates. Longer lasting plates increase the number of plate usages, and in turn provide even more cost savings to the printer. nyloflex® ACE plates have been a high performance standard for the package printer for over a decade, so why would Flint Group change a proven winner? As new prepress technologies such as high definition flexo and flat top dot (FTD) emerged, it became increasingly important to optimise the photopolymer plates used

in conjunction with these technologies.

For this reason, Flint Group reformulated its nyloflex® ACE Digital plate to provide benefits on press such as sharper details, high contrast images and smoother vignettes. As a result, additional benefits, such as less cleaning stops and less downtime waste emerged. “In addition to the extremely clean running nature of the plate, we have been able to maintain the high performance printing characteristics for which the nyloflex® ACE Digital plate has always been known,” confirms Joan Cekovsky-Kaza, Director of Sales Flint Group Flexographic Products North America.

Due to the positive feedback Flint Group received during the initial beta testing, conducted in all areas of flexo print applications in over 100 different print trials, Flint Group developed a special tool, a cost savings calculator, that allows the printer to determine the potential time savings, cost savings and capacity increase available to him by switching to the NEW nyloflex®

ACE Digital plate. This simple tool provides the printer an effective means to put values behind the plate evaluation on press. Flint Group offers to assist printers, who are interested in determining their specific savings potential, with this cost savings calculator tool.

“We are convinced that potential customers who try the NEW nyloflex® ACE Digital plates will be impressed with the high quality of the plate, with its longevity on press, and the efficiencies, which it affords, we’re challenging them to convince themselves,” commented Eberhard Huter, Vice President Sales Flint Group Flexographic Products.

In a product promotion featuring the NEW nyloflex® ACE Digital printing plates, Flint Group is offering a free trial case of plates to qualified printers.

Interested printers may visit the Flint Group website at www.flintgrp.com/ en/ACE_NEW.php to request a free sample of plates and assistance with the cost savings calculator tool.

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

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Digital colour label press takes us to the next level in digital production When it comes to quality and perfection, Reynders Label Printing knows just how to deliver. From its humble beginnings over half a century ago, when Mr Emile Reynders founded the company in 1959 printing stationery in the family home, it has since expanded to become one of the leading label specialists in Europe.

Headquartered in Boechout, Belgium with six specialised printing divisions and eight production facilities spread throughout Europe and Asia, Reynders Label Printing prides itself in its commitment to delivering the very best in design and label printing in which innovation, quality and customer service are of paramount importance.

Today, Reynders, which remains a family-run business, has over 60 printing presses and more than 450 printing stations covering flexography, offset, letterpress, screen, dry toner, wet toner and ink jet printing technologies, enabling the company to offer one of the broadest ranges of label printing

equipment for a host of applications. It has been this focus on maintaining its leading position through investment in the very latest label printing equipment that led to the installation of the first Domino N600i digital colour label press at its Belgium production facility.

job,” continues Marc, “But to take Reynders to the next level in digital label production we needed a solution that could offer high quality digital printing at significantly increased speeds. The N600i was just what we were looking for.”

Chief Executive Officer Marc Reynders explains, “Over the past few years, label printing has been facing new challenges with customers demanding ever tighter delivery deadlines, shorter average run lengths, more personalised data; but still the highest quality of end product.

As a result, we needed to find solutions that can not only cope with these changing demands, but that also means adjusting our service offering for our customers. It ultimately helps us to move our business forward in line with the changing dynamics of the industry.”

The Domino N600i four colour digital label press offers a native 600dpi print resolution and uses one of the smallest drop sizes (6pl) to deliver the highest quality output onto a range of coated paper and plastic label stocks, and operates at speeds of 50-75 metres per minute. Combined with a standard 333mm (13”) wide web width it provides up to 1,500m² of print per hour. In addition, by varying the droplet sizes delivered from a single print head combined with the composition of the ink, the N600i can reproduce a wide colour gamut including over 80% of the pantone colour range.

When Marc and his team first saw an early technology demonstration of the N600i at Ipex 2010, they were immediately impressed. For a digital printing press, it offered much higher levels of productivity combined with improved print quality for ink jet.

“We already had a number of HP Indigos, the latest Xeikon technologies and three Agfa Dotrix digital label presses all of which were doing a good

With so many label press technologies installed across Reynders multiple sites, the fact that Domino had integrated the Esko front end into its N600i added to its appeal to Reynders and assisted with its integration.

“We already worked with the Esko workflow and this together with the intuitive user interface made working with the N600i so much more straightforward,” said Marc.

Installation didn’t go without its challenges, especially with the company agreeing to be a beta test site for Domino’s N600i, but both the Reynders and Domino teams worked together to ensure any issues were addressed and the installation met all requirements.

“It’s fair to say that with any beta site, installation can take longer than usual, but we are delighted with the outcome,” confirms Marc. “We always had complete confidence in Domino

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

27 throughout the process. They listened to our requirements, were extremely helpful in exploring ways to overcome any issues and conducted the installation with the utmost professionalism.”

Within a short time, the operations team had the N600i running at production speeds of 50 metres per minute, a significantly higher rate than the company’s existing digital technologies, and were using the press for new midvolume applications of up to 3,000 metres, well above the 1,000 metres limit they typically would schedule on digital machines.

The increased speed of throughput brought additional challenges for the operators, as it meant they could no longer manually check for rejects and quality of output, as was the procedure for the company’s slower running solutions. As a result, Reynders installed an automated vision system onto the N600i line that could cope with verification of output at such high speeds, reducing operator intervention and adding further to production efficiencies.

To further develop the flexibility and capabilities of the N600i, Reynders

and the Domino team are working together to develop new inks as well as review the integration of inline diecutting technology within the N600i production line.

“Although it is still early days, we are extremely impressed with the capabilities of the N600i,” enthuses Marc, who is already looking to exploit the potential it can offer in terms of longer term new business opportunities. “The N600i has certainly lived up to our expectations of high resolution, high quality output at

significantly higher operational speeds.

The operation has been reliable and we are able to run much longer production jobs than we would normally print with digital technology, in this respect it is more targeted at replacing what we would normally run on flexo machines” “If the N600i continues to perform to our expectations and we can achieve all our business goals, we will be considering further investment in this technology in the future,” concludes Marc.

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Meeting demands of the Australian Wine Industry.

In an endeavour to lower costs to keep the Australian Wine Industry competitive due to the increase in value of the Australian dollar, a local company has answered all the calls to create products for lower grade label stocks.

Many may not realise that 20 years ago Australians were pioneers in changing the wine labeling industry to using pressure sensitive labels. Pressure sensitive means that the adhesive is preapplied to the label and that it is peeled off a siliconized backing paper before transfer to the bottle.

Prior to using P/S labels, the industry relied on “wet gum” gluing. The labels were printed like any other print job and then guillotined into single labels that were fed through an automatic gluing machine. Registration was often difficult and the label lacked embellishments.

Using P/S labels, the label can be foiled, embossed and print can be raised. The labels can be Matt, Satin or Gloss or a combination of the three.

Naturally the labels cannot scuff in the bottling race nor in the carton – either against themselves or by rubbing of the dividers or corrugated board.

The first criteria of an acceptable label is suitable “rub” resistance and this is achieved by using the right combination of resins and waxes. These days the demand is for more and more of a Matt or “Flat” look. The more Matt a product the more difficult it is to get the “machining” properties right.

Monocure Pty. Ltd. a privately owned company in Auburn, NSW has managed to solve all these problems. “It

started to make UV curable varnishes for the wine industry when the company was in its infancy in 1982 “ Alan Anderson the Managing Director said.

At that stage Collotype in South Australia had installed the first UV curable printing press. Labels in those days were still made by the “sheet fed” process but still had to have water and scuff resistant properties. Both companies installed “rub testing” machines and new standards were established for the industry.

The first narrow web pressure sensitive label machine for production of wine labels was purchased by them soon after this. The same standards applied but varnishes had to be made to suit all the different applications, UV inks and varnishes “cure” by passing the wet inked label under a synthetic source of UV light. This is provided by a mercury lamp that has to be cooled and the fumes exhausted to prevent ozone build-up. It means inks are solvent free and there is no need for expensive “drying tunnels” to dry the wet ink or varnish.

Since then printing machines have been made to run faster and faster. Machines today are moving at 170M/Minute compared to 20-40 to start with. Inks, varnishes and embellishments all have to be able to work at these speeds.

Monocure began life as an offshoot to a successful Australian owned adhesive company. Alan Anderson the owner started Staybond Pty. Ltd. In 1968 after returning from his grandfather’s company in Scandinavia. He introduced PVA adhesive to Australia and was instrumental in changing Unilever to using PVA instead of hot animal glue to seal their soap cartons.

Staybond changed the wine and beer industry to using water resistant adhesives for their labels so labels did not come off in ice buckets or eskys. The adhesive industry in Europe was much more advanced than Australia and having had experience selling to the packaging and woodworking industry in Europe and Ireland during the early 60’s, Alan was in a perfect position to build his adhesive empire in Australia.

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Staybond was sold to National Starch and Monocure was separated as a stand alone company.

It may be of interest that the company began by doing work for the CSIRO. They were supplying a binder to bond straw along the side of roads and the CSIRO asked them to try it bonding bagasse (sugar cane fibre) to nude sheep after they were chemically de-shorn. The sheep suffered from frostbite in the winter and sunburn in the summer and had to be protected until the new wool growth appeared. “Nothing we had stuck to the lanolin” Alan Anderson said. A recent graduate from the University of NSW working in the company’s laboratory said he knew how to solve it.

He mixed a resin with a foaming agent which once sprayed became like a sponge. When the sheep went into the sun the coating “cured” and the spongy coating lasted two months until the new wool grew. One day whilst lunching with the Women’s Weekly production crew, one of them heard this story and said let’s leave the foaming agent out and replace it with pigment. This was then passed under a synthetic source of UV light and a waterbased environmentally friendly UV curable ink was born.

With the assistance of venture capitalists, the company grew and in recent years its focus has been on increasing market share rather than largely R&D (funded by grants). The company’s success lies in its ability to create a product for an end use - often at short notice. It still has an excellent R&D team and is well known for its ability to react quickly and solve customers’ problems.

Monocure now supplies to all states of Australia and exports to Asia, New Zealand and South Africa. With a favourable dollar they sold to a Scottish label producing company and its products have been used on labels for leading brands of whisky.

Monocure is a typical example of what can be achieved in Australia using personal initiative, perseverance and expertise. Opposition products come in from all around the world often at very cheap pricing but it is the continuing high quality of its products and the ability to react to day to day problems that keep the company alive.

Its website can be seen on www.monocure.com.au and any enquiries from Asia are welcomed.

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Thinking Outside, Inside, and All Around the Box While some segments of the print market have been declining, eroded by alternative means of communication, other segments are seeing growth. With recipients’ email inboxes overloaded, marketers will increase spending on printed direct mail—by up to 6% this year, according to marketing consultants Winterberry Group. Packaging is another growing market, presenting growth opportunities for printers of all sizes.

And it is not just large volume national brands driving the growth. Think about the explosion in micro-breweries and local wineries. These are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of “Buy Local” initiatives, private labeling and products from smaller companies that are driving lot sizes down and causing disruption in the packaging supply chain, which in many cases is not designed to cost-effectively handle these smaller lot sizes at the price level and quality manufacturers demand.

Also keep in mind that where there is a package, there is a promotion.

Point-of-purchase advertising, package inserts, peel-off coupons, and hang tags are just some of the collateral items associated with packaging that present opportunities for commercial printers, packaging converters and brand owners alike. And many of these

items can benefit from geographic, demographic, seasonal or other types of customization, further driving down lot sizes.

At the same time, brand owners want and need packaging that will literally jump from the shelves into the shopping card. This includes the use of specialty stocks, fluorescent ink, metallic ink, varnishes, and aqueous coating to achieve distinction and shelf appeal. Multi-part packaging is also popular to increase both brand awareness and perceived product value.

A personal care product packed in a labeled jar, wrapped in branded tissue paper, and placed in a folded carton, is a common example.

In addition, the popularity of natural foods and personal care products has increased the demand for

environmentally-friendly printing methods, stock, inks, and coatings.

There is also a growing trend toward more biodegradable packaging, such as replacing plastic surrounds with paper wraps or cardboard sleeves on durable goods.

Presstek DI presses offer an ideal solution for cost-effectively producing small lot size packaging and accompany point-of-purchase materials. Their ability to use a wide range of inks, including vegetable-based varieties, UV inks and protective varnishes, on stock up to 31 pt. thick, make DI presses well suited for production in this dynamic environment.

For high volume printers and packaging converters, DI presses are a cost-effective solution for profitably meeting customers’ short-run and fast turnaround needs, and for printing small package components without burdening large presses and imposing on production schedules, or for producing test market materials or packaging mock-ups in short runs.

DI press sizes accommodate the majority of the printed components commonly used in packaging, such as skin cards for blister packs, inserts for plastic clamshells, and the small folding cartons used in many industries. The 29-inch format Presstek 75DI handles larger folding cartons and facilitates multiple-up sheets and gang runs.

Presstek 52DI and 75DI presses are available with inline aqueous coating.

UV models are available in all format sizes.

Digital production methods are rapidly making their way into the packaging supply chain visit Presstek in Booth 3117 to learn more about how high quality DI presses can augment operations for packaging converters or ease the entry into packaging for commercial printers.

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Fuji Xerox unveils new wideformat Inkjet Printer In a bid to take on the challenge of business cost savings, Fuji Xerox’s latest DocuWide C842 can shave 40% off ink consumption. The newly launched press is developed for companies providing services that include exhibition banners, backlight displays and large posters.

High-resolution output is a requirement for the construction, and geographic information system (GIS) industries and the Fuji Xerox DocuWide C842’s output resolution of 1,600 by 1,600 dpi allows stunning quality and detail.

There is compromise on productivity with this CMYK one-pass printing press as runs at an impressive speed of seven A0-sized or 12 A1-sized sheets per minute. This is a breathtaking six inches (152.4mm) per second!

The device is also very flexible in terms of substrates, you can load cut sheet up to two metres in length using the manual feed table, handle wide printing up to 42 inches, long-paper printing up to five metres and print-outs for large 36-inch posters with register marks for trimming. A maximum of four rolls can be mounted at one time with either a two inch or three inch core plus the manual feeder, enabling the device to meet various printing requirements and minimising the trouble of changing paper types different jobs. Large volume continuous printing of up to 999 sheets can serve multiple users in a workgroup and adjustments in accordance to paper sizes are automatically made upon loading to minimise wastage.

One common issue is consistency across different substrates and many printers suffer from slower output when changing to different substrates.

However, various different application can be printed continuously on Fuji Xerox DocuWide C842 thus eliminating many man-hours in lost productivity and giving companies consistent excellent quality on varying substrates whether it is plain, matte coated, gloss coated, tracing paper, vellum or film.

An additional unique feature improving quality, the Fuji Xerox DocuWide C842 has a new ink circulating system that

eliminates air bubbles and impurities to ensure unhindered optimum image reproduction. The inkjet technology , now refined down to 1.4 picolitre, proficiently handles a high dynamic range of shades or halftone images while the water-based dye ink produces smooth and natural colour gradation, sharply reproducing details, textures and fine lines without graininess.

Apart from time-savings with consistent quality on varying substrates, the secret

to Fuji Xerox DocuWide C842’s 40% reduction on Ink consumption is the ability to preview (allowing last minute checks) prior to print. The device also has a low-power usage of 690W or less, complying with various environmental standards International Energy Star Programme and RoHS standard.

The DocuWide C842 is available in a range of configurations to support different customer requirements and can be integrated into both Windows® and Macintosh environments.

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Solving a problem in process costs for electronic components A recent innovation from Schreiner ProTech, based on advanced self-adhesive label technology has brought significant cost and time savings for manufacturers of electronic goods – and won recognition in a prestigious international labelling competition.

Sensitive parts in today’s many electronic devices require careful finishing treatment by the manufacturer before they can be added to the finished product. They must be protected from the ingress of dirt, moisture, and salt spray to ensure that they will function properly, and they must carry a barcoded nameplate – usually a specially-developed self-adhesive label construction – which must last the life of the product – for identification and authentication purposes. These postproduction activities are essential but time-consuming and costly, and often

involve hand assembly, particularly on smaller components.

An integrated solution Schreiner ProTech – a business unit within the multi-disciplinary Schreiner Group, Oberschleissheim, Germany – which focuses on high-technology solutions based on self-adhesive labelling, has found the answer. The company has developed an integrated solution that combines both the pressure compensation seal (PCS) and the durable self-adhesive nameplate into a single laminate, delivered on a roll, for automatic or manual application to the electronic component. This special laminate does not in any way compromise the performance of either PCS or nameplate durability.

Conversely, the system is today delivering significant reductions in both time and cost for manufacturers of electronic devices in, for example, the automotive, consumer electronics, electrical goods, and medical markets.

How the self-adhesive laminate contributes The self-adhesive label laminate, combining a face material, adhesive layer, and release-coated protective liner, is a versatile product that allows choices at every label. The Schreiner ProTech nameplate-integrated pressure compensation seals employ a printed film membrane as the face, partnered with an adhesive chosen for optimal performance on the component’s

substrate (metal, medium- and lowsurface energy plastics such as HDPE and polycarbonates). To ensure reliable ventilation performance for the PCS and optimal printability of the durable label, Schreiner ProTech’s BleedStop technology – which controls the flow of the thick layer of adhesive necessary for durable label applications on what are often rough or irregular surfaces – is added to the adhesive layer. The laminate is completed with a reliable backing liner whose silicone coating allows the PCS-cum-nameplate to be smoothly and accurately positioned on the substrate via an automatic or handheld dispenser.

International standards and compliances Schreiner ProTech consults closely with customers to define and meet specific needs – including meeting international standards and compliances such as REACH, RoHS, IMDS, WEEE, and UL and CSA certification. The printed message on the nameplate is the guarantee of a product’s safety and authenticity, so its printability, durability, and legibility (both by scanner and by the naked eye) are also essential. Schreiner ProTech nameplates also meet this requirement, and may be supplied to the component manufacturer either as pre-printed or blank labels for subsequent individual on-site printing.

‘A focussed development project’ Says Michael Spörl, product manager,

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Jules Lejeune, Managing Director FINAT

Innovation award In the 2012 FINAT Label Awards – an international competition focussing on self-adhesive label applications across a broad arena – the Schreiner ProTech pressure compensation seals in nameplates were recognised as a true innovation.

Full details of the product are available via the Schreiner ProTech website, www.schreiner-protech.com, and of the 2012 FINAT Label Awards via www.finat.com/Awards.

About FINAT FINAT, founded in Paris in 1958, with headquarters in The Hague (The Netherlands), is the world-wide association for manufacturers of selfadhesive labels and related products and services. With 600 members in over 50 countries around the world, FINAT has much to offer to label converters and all suppliers to the labeling industry in terms of information exchange and the opportunity to network internationally. www.finat.com

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Wide range of innovative characteristics Nuova GIDUE S.r.l. held a successful Open House on February 6th-8th at the Italian manufacturer’s headquarter in Tavarnuzze (FI), Tuscany. GIDUE opened its doors to present the deep innovation of the new M9 “all-in-one-pass” multiprocess press for the Carton and Packaging industry.

The undisputed protagonist of the Open House was the new M9 carton machine. This pioneering printing machine shows a wide range of innovative characteristics.

It offers the completely redesigned M9 Offset print group with heavyduty frames, independent servo-driven inking units and format cassettes, to achieve short set-up times and wastes.

Each M9 Offset print unit is driven by a total of 7 servo motors and is one of the most automated and efficient print units in the Carton and Packaging industry.

Among its further innovations, the M9 offers a new Flexo print unit which can use water-based and UV inks with high power drying speed also on heavy solids. The M9 Flexo unit is placed on the GIDUE Universal Platform and can be easily interchanged with Screen, Cold Foil and Hot Stamping Process heads.

A new “heavy duty” tension control system for carton up to 500 gsm has been developed. A new M9 heavy duty Rotogravure unit has been shown “live” during the Open House, with impinged air drying system, which can print with water and solvent based inks.

The M9 proposes also a new converting section, with a vast range of functionalities: 3 die-cutting stations for self-adhesive substrates, 3 heavy duty die-cutting station for thick carton for embossing, creasing, die-cutting, 1 rotary servo-driven sheeting stations for heavy carton, 1 high-pile newly designed high-speed stacker and 1 dedicated delivery table for beer labels.

The deep innovation of GIDUE M9 new press line is developed for the carton-boxes market for highend added value products, such as

cosmetics, liquors and chocolate, and in general for the Packaging industry.

The main advantages of GIDUE new M9 press line can be summarized in: all-in-one-pass multi-process / multi-converting possibilities; short set-up time and waste, flexibility in substrates from BOPP 38 µm to 500 gsm carton, possibility to use solvent based, water-based and UV curable inks, multi-process and interchangeable platforms for flexo, screen, cold foil and hot-stamping, multiple converting possibilities (e.g. shingle delivery sheeting, high-pile stacking, roll rewind, single piece shingle delivery), the new “heavy duty” M9 gravure section and, above all, the extremely advanced M9 new Offset and Flexo print units.

They had a chance to understand how the M9 can switch from carton to a typical self-adhesive job and, besides, they appreciated several other GIDUE machines, i.e., the new Combat MX dedicated to the self-adhesive market, the Combat M3 for sleeves and wraparound labels and the Master M5 supporting the exclusive GIDUE Digital Flexo™ technology.

GIDUE Managing Director Federico d’Annunzio comments: “Labels and Packaging industries are getting closer, the M9 is designed to create a “bridge” between the two markets. The M9 fulfils most of the commitments of high-end added value Packaging, which can be produced “all-in-one-pass” using several printing and converting technologies. This also helped us to develop new “short-runs” technologies in Gravure, Offset and Flexo printing and in the Converting sections.

The first M9 will be delivered to a major Chinese converter to print liquor boxes and cigarettes packages who is looking for very high printing quality and new “exclusive” Packaging solutions”.

He concludes: “We were pleased with the quantity and quality of our visitors.

This Open House has been a good opportunity to show GIDUE deep innovation capabilities and provide a guided tour of our facilities. Feedback from our guests was very positive and it is incredibly satisfying to see how people get impressed by our innovative M9 “big bambina”!”.

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Labels: adding value to packaging

by Jules Lejeune, managing director FINAT

The evolution of supply and demand for selfadhesive labels is not just a matter of collecting and interpreting industry statistics and quantitative indicators. Especially in the last three to five years, macro-economic factors such as the twin crises of bank credit and sovereign debt, and the associated volatilities, have distorted the picture of underlying longer-term trends and developments.

What are these underlying trends?

How is the label industry positioned in the context of the broader packaging industry? What is driving demand for labels in comparison to alternative decoration technologies? What is the label printer’s share of the total added value created along the supply chain?

How are continuous innovations in technology and materials helping label printers to claim a bigger share of the pie? What are the corporate strategic options to be pursued to ensure a sustainable company future?

In this article FINAT aims to address these questions and monitor relevant trends and developments.

The advent of the paper bag – the

universal packaging in a 19th century grocer’s shop – created the need to identify the contents with some kind of ‘label’. This was, of course, really helpful for customers; and, since then, labels have been expanding their role in packaging, driven by legislative demands as well as the need to promote a particular brand, as the consumer society gained momentum after the Second World War. Labels: adding convenience and versatility Today, it is certainly true that a self-adhesive label adds value to a product’s packaging in a variety of ways: as a source of information on pack contents; as a location for barcodes and other track-and-trace

and authentication devices; and as a promotion and decoration. In all these spheres, the convenience and versatility of the self-adhesive laminate have been key contributors to product packaging.

They serve manufacturers across the whole spectrum of products, providing a valuable and easily-accessed tool for product development and marketing, particularly for direct-label goods – today the world’s dominant brand, and the leading driver for demand in packaging and labels.

Even in the 21st century, self-adhesive labels are adding value to products and brands in new and developing ways, around the world, in partnership with an ever-changing base of packaging materials. Label converters benefit -- almost uniquely in a manufacturing environment – from being part of a harmonised but complex value chain that embraces raw materials suppliers, self-adhesive laminators, ink, die, and other press consumables suppliers. All levels of this value chain are assisted and nurtured by the European association for self-adhesive labelling, FINAT, and its counterpart organisations around the world.

Trade associations – facilitators of global standards and best practice As ‘umbrella’ organisations, trade associations create industry standards and drive ‘best practice’; facilitate networking, lobbying, and promotional opportunities; and provide technical and legislative updates. At a time when sustainability, food safety, and

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39 optimisation of the world’s natural resources are key criteria, uninterrupted status information on global and regional legislative issues such as REACH, is essential for everyone in the label supply chain.

After all, today’s self-adhesive label industry is increasingly global in its reach, serving the international brand owners and retailers across all their regional markets.

Global breakdown of label demand Global label demand (across all technologies) is expected to reach over 50 billion m2 by 2015. World label demand growth for 2012/13 will be approximately 6-7%.

The prime volume markets are foods, beverages, personal care products, and pharmaceuticals. The world’s emerging economies – particularly the BRIC countries – are driving that growth.

Self-adhesive labels, along with glueapplied labels, still represent together nearly four fifths of the total label market, but face competition today from sleeving and in-mould labels – both of which are exhibiting positive growth, particularly in the food and beverage markets.

In Europe, the dynamic development in recent years in the eastern countries has slowed somewhat, but remains a key factor in the region’s positive growth. North American self-adhesive label demand growth has been was driven primarily by VIP applications.

Asia Pacific takes the largest global share of the overall label market today, and here self-adhesive labels demonstrate healthy growth, with new label laminating companies, as well as converters, proliferating. The newest label market, Africa and the Middle East, combines both mature and unstable economies, but is evidencing healthy overall growth for self-adhesive labels.

Raw materials inflation and sustainability: push for downgauging With its complex make-up, the selfadhesive labelstock is particularly susceptible to raw material price increases – and these have characterised the market for nearly two years, creating margin pressures at every level of the value chain. Prices for platinum – the

initiator for silicone release coatings – remain extremely high, and crude oil prices, fluctuating in response to world political issues, continue to be of high concern, particularly in relation to plastic films. While paper labels and release liners continue to dominate self-adhesive label use, film facestocks and release liners are gaining market share. Environmental concerns and the quest for sustainability are encouraging the use of ‘downgauged’ self-adhesive labelstocks – in order to reduce material usage; to save cost; to reduce inventory storage space; to save (thanks to lighter weight) on transport costs. Lower-gauge film facestocks and release liners are key players in this arena, with significant reductions in basis weight achieved.

Secondary use of label materials: towards commercially-viable solutions In papers, the manufacturers have more limited opportunities to downgauge, but are concentrating on specialties, like wash-off labelstocks for bottles, security papers embedded with forensic and other taggants, and wine label laminates offering ‘ice bucket’ performance. The proven recyclability of glassine release liner is now beginning to encourage the continuing use of paper labelstocks.

At the same time, the skills of the papermaker are being increasingly employed in the ‘cradle to cradle’ repulping of glassine release liner. It is a sad fact of life, however, that the label industry and its customers have yet to fully take advantage of such schemes: their commercial capacity has not yet been filled. It is important to add that the remainder of the waste stream created by converting self-adhesive labels – namely the matrix waste – has

yet to find a ‘cradle to cradle’ solution – although, as has been proven over a number of years, it can be successfully used in industrial incinerators for waste-to-energy recycling.

The continuing popularity of the ‘no label look’, created using clear film label facestocks, is not the only driver for film usage in self-adhesive labels today. Film release liner, PET or PP, is increasingly a choice today. The combination of film facestock and film liner enables serious downgauging of label laminate, to deliver more labels per reel, fewer roll changes on press and on the labelling line, and therefore significant time and cost savings. Cost savings are additionally enhanced by recycling the film release liner: world shortages of PE granulate and high demand have made recycled liner a financially viable commodity.

Film-based labels: where decoration technologies meet in narrow webspace However, it is in the realms of film that self-adhesive labels today see their greatest competition. As stated, filmbased shrink sleeve labels, stretch and wrap-around sleeves, and in-mould labels are today enjoying faster growth rates. However, these technologies are opportunities as well as threats, and self-adhesive label converters today are embracing the concept of ‘one-stop shopping’ – offering their customers not only the self-adhesive path, but also the non-adhesive technologies which can be profitably and ably printed on their narrow-web presses.

Broadening the agenda Label converters today are, indeed, at the centre of an intermingling of technologies in the packaging chain,

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offering both web-fed self-adhesive labels and sheet-fed wet glue labels, as well as flexible packaging and tube laminate. They are also experiencing, in the M&A arena, buyouts by flexible packaging companies wishing to expand their offering, and also mainstream packaging companies purchasing selfadhesive label converters to develop their capability to provide perosnalised packaging.

Digital: shorter runs, higher break-even point The narrow-web presses that characterise self-adhesive label production have in recent years mostly employed the flexographic print process, most recently coupled with speedy UV curing. However, the fastdeveloping narrow-web digital colour print options – particularly the HP Indigo and Xeikon – are dramatically changing the face of label print today.

As brand owners and retailers opt for shorter production runs of their products, delivered more often, as well as multi-versioning of products using the same basic packaging, so the speed, flexibility, and shorter-run capability of digital print is proving itself.

Linerless: a revival of interest for special applications Linerless self-adhesive labels – which briefly enjoyed popularity in the 1980s – are enjoying a resurgence of interest; and technology advances have made them a real success currently for supermarket catchweigh food prepacks in particular. Limitations on label shape have held this format back, but developments are ongoing and this is an area to watch.

Technology advances: enhancing t he brand experience On-press trends include an ever-

broader toolcase of special finishes for labels, such as photochromic and high-gloss metallic inks; time-temperature indicators; holograms; and tactile varnishes.

Designed to enhance the consumer’s experience of a product’s packaging and create shelf ‘stand-out’, they partner highlyengineered permanent and removable adhesives to deliver the perfect performance for the brand owner’s needs.

Connecting the global label industry network In an increasingly-global label market, there is a real need for a ‘living’ network for the whole base of industry players, sharing information and knowledge, transcending the boundaries of countries and languages. Within less than three years, the L9 – the global collective of label industry associations, of which FINAT is a founder member – has made enormous strides in this direction, sharing knowledge and experience on sustainability and recycling; jointly promoting the label industry’s ‘best-in-class’ at the World Label Awards; introducing benchmarking and standardised best practices; And thus bringing benefits for all members and their end-user customers.

Labels: the interactive medium connecting product and consumer Label content is becoming increasingly an issue as the requirements of brand owner and retailer are transcended by the requirements of legislation on information and food safety, security and logistics input, and customeraccessible additional information via QR codes and similar devices.

As a result of this broader agenda for label content, label size has increased; and leaflet label usage has grown considerably – particularly for pharmaceuticals. In the pharmaceutical field in particular, in the face of growing instances of counterfeiting, the addition of Braille content, and overt and covert security and track-

and-trace devices is extensive.

In this context, there are real opportunities for label printers to engage with commercial packaging companies – in cartons, for example – to add value in terms of enhanced customer experience and engagement with a particular brand. Self-adhesive labels can certainly enable mainstream sectors of the packaging industry to benefit from 21st century brand identification strategies, without the need to change their core technology base.

Corporate strategies for the label printer The self-adhesive label converting industry came into existence very much as a family concern, based on small businesses, initially serving regional or specialist markets. The international nature of today’s leading brands and growing globalisation have necessarily changed the face of the industry via a continuing stream of mergers and acquisitions. However, the industry values its origins, and there is a strong desire to retain the ‘family’ aspects of the business, even in the context of ‘growing’ the company.

As a relatively young industry in the context of printing, and a downstream user of a variety of raw materials, there are many things label converters can learn from old-established industries like paper and board, and from new packaging formats like flexible packaging. Their successes can be analysed, and could indeed be replicated in part in label converting businesses. Equally, there are lessons to be learned from other industries about what NOT to do.

A dynamic and creative sector of the packaging chain Packaging has come a long way since the original paper bag – and labelling has had to move with the times to embrace developments that have encompassed tin cans, plastic bottles, and flexible packaging. Self-adhesive labels have proved themselves perfect, innovative partners in all these developments.

They continue to represent a dynamic and creative sector of the packaging chain, offering unparalleled flexibility and versatility. What is more, they are the product of a value chain that

ma-design.de

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Direct engraved elastomer forms •2 production steps only •Simply & cost efficient •100 % digital process •Top quality in solid & screen •3 x longer print runs

High-resolution direct engraving. Unbeatable.

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KODAK FLEXCEL Direct System helps Target Sales Growth Germany’s Sächsische Walzengravur GmbH (SWG), a Janoschka Group company, has invested in the new KODAK FLEXCEL Direct System for direct laser engraving of elastomer sleeves and plates.

The Frankenberg-based company opted for the innovative FLEXCEL Direct System following an in-depth evaluation, and will use it to enhance its already extensive CO2 laser technology.

Founded in 1890, SWG has many years experience in direct laser engraving systems. With a workforce of 125 highly specialised employees, the company’s product range includes gravure and embossing forms, mechanical cylinder and roller manufacture, print forms for rotating screen printing, and sleeves for gravure and offset printing and special applications. A quarter of SWG’s turnover comes from flexographic printing forms, which the company produces for packaging printing, special applications and decorative printing, a field in which it is a market leader.

Direct laser engraving – a fine art Jörg Günther, Sales Director of SWG, explains the company’s ongoing commitment to laser printing: “We’ve deliberately built up our direct laser printing technology over the years. The FLEXCEL Direct System is our latest addition and will play a key role in our strategy for using flexographic printing for highend packaging.

“The FLEXCEL Direct System’s high resolution and innovative beam shaping mean we can achieve a significant improvement in engraving quality compared with CO2 laser technology, and at the same time increase our productivity.

“These new technological advancements are helping us to compete more effectively with other suppliers of flexographic printing forms based on photopolymer plates.”

The FLEXCEL Direct System is a complete system, with high-end integrated components delivering optimal performance. The imager works with high-resolution, energy-efficient multi-channel laser diode technology (915nm) and 1,280W laser power. The KODAK TIFF Front End Software with 3D-workflow converts the single-bit raster information into three- dimensional engraving data, and into sleeves and plates with a system-specific elastomer formulation.

It’s this integrated approach that persuaded the SWG management team: “All in all, the FLEXCEL Direct System is a more innovative concept than other systems on the market,” continues Günther.

“Another important factor for us is the system’s reliability. And for added peace of mind, we can call on Kodak’s extensive service network in Germany.”

SWG will use the FLEXCEL Direct System to produce flexo sleeves and plates for customers in the high-resolution packaging printing sector. The company aims to increase sales by around 30% with these printing forms.

SWG is also exploring where it can use the new direct laser engraving system for other applications. For example, print forms for special products – including printed electronic components – and manufacturing high-end elastomer embossing forms.

Meike De Vos, Kodak’s Category Manager Flexographic Solutions & Proofing comments: “Increasingly higher quality is becoming the norm for flexible sleeve packaging and we are delighted the team at SWG recognise that the KODAK FLEXCEL Direct System can and will meet theirs and their customer’s expectations. This is a growing market and following its investment SWG will be able to position itself as a leading partner of choice.”

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[tauruslab.net]

what appears simple is often the most difficult to realize

GIDUE Top Quality Entry Level press Combat MX press displays the shortest web-path to minimize set-up waste.

The press is using high precision belt-drives for perfect register and identical register performances after 10 years (no wear of gearboxes).

The MX press offers a unique “no-maintenance” program: for 2 years the press needs neither maintenance nor any particular care. The MX press can be used effectively by operators without any skill in flexography or in self-adhesive labels.

Qualitaly!

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

44 PERSONAL HYGIENE AND BEAUTY

Fruit of planning The packaging renewal of the Elseve line harmonizes the expectations of the marketing and production areas, bringing expressive gains for L’Oréal A success oF L’Oréal in the Brazilian market, the Elseve line of shampoos and conditioners had its packaging redesigned in the end of March. The change was not strictly cosmetic. In addition to presenting more modern look, meeting the expectations of the marketing department of the French multinational, the new bottles brought productivity gains and logistical advantages. “The great differential of this project was planning,” considers Carlos Lopes, packaging director of L’Oréal Brazil.

Check the main actions and results of the initiative.

optimized packaging Before the redesign, the production of the Elseve line used five bottle formats (picture 1); three for the shampoos (8.3 fl oz and 13.3 fl oz for the domestic market and 8.3 fl oz for export) and two for the conditioners (6.66 fl oz and 10 fl oz). They have been replaced with only two versions (6.66 fl oz and 13.3 fl oz), which are used for the shampoos and conditioners (picture 2), blow molded at an in-house Alpla plant.

“With the changes, production management became much easier,” says Carlos Lopes. “The simplification brought us great savings in the production and mould maintenance, in supplier management, in the blow molding line, in the filling lines, inventory management, color development, and several other details.”

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Transporting efficiency The new format presents greater line stability and does not require interlayers in the transportation packaging. “We are preparing everything to, gradually, convert our line outputs, which are now working with corrugated cardboard boxes, to adopt transport heat shrink packaging,” anticipates Carlos Lopes.

40 | Maio 2012

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Digitizing the Orient – Singapore printer installs Xeikon 3030 Label & Package Printing Press

In its search for cutting-edge label printing technologies that both aid production efficiency and provide quality in print, Singapore-based Orient Quality Print Pte Ltd selected Xeikon’s high-performing digital printing technology as the best solution. reduce cost and the ease of material inventory control,” said Mr Alex Tan, CEO of Orient Quality Print.

“The efficiencies and benefits are phenomenal and we couldn’t be happier!” he added. Josep Roca, Area sales manager for Asia comments: “We are delighted that Orient in Singapore embraces the Xeikon 3030. They are living proof that after Europe and North America, Asia is now embracing the label and packaging digital printing presses from Xeikon. To support this trend, 2 active service hubs are installed in the region with engineers operating out of Singapore and India” A relatively young printer-converter, Orient Quality Print is involved in intermittent letterpress and label finishing, producing labels for different vertical markets including the health and beauty, food and industrial segments.

The Singaporean label and packaging printer needed a print solution that would cater to the growing trend of variable content, extremely short lead times and high lightfastness colors, while gaining production efficiency in Singapore’s high-cost labour market.

Realizing that digital print was the only way forward, Orient Quality Print made sure to be the first commercial printer to offer this highly productive solution to its market. The company owners Mr Alex Tan, Mr J Te & Mr Ben Chua evaluated different digital printing brands available in the industry for several months and eventually confirmed Xeikon to be the best investment choice that would bring a good ROI (Return on Investment).

The full rotary direct printing press gave Orient Quality Print the capability to print extra-long labels – essential for

the industrial labels it prints. Xeikon toners’ very high lightfastness (6 to 8 on the blue wool scale) is also vital for certain types of applications which the printer-converter runs.

Through CGS Pte Ltd, the sole authorised partner of Xeikon International BV for Singapore and Malaysia, Orient Quality Print ordered a complete Xeikon 3030 digital printing system.

In October 2012, the Xeikon 3030 line was installed by specialists from Xeikon International and the CGS trained technical team, and the system was in full production status in just three weeks, operating full 24-hour shifts on an almost 24/7 basis. Orient Print Quality runs the Xeikon press in a roll to roll configuration, and handles the finishing process offline.

“We were really impressed by Xeikon 3030 extremely fast start-up during production, print quality, colour stability throughout the production run, low material wastage, highly efficient daily files handling and use of standard / non-pre-treated substrates allow us to

Combining productivity and quality benefits The Xeikon 3030 is a member of the high performing Xeikon 3000 Series of five-color digital label presses, which was launched in 2010. Utilizing LED-arraybased,dry-toner electrophotography, the Xeikon 3030 is standard-equipped with five color stations - four for the standard process colors, while the 5th allows the use of spot colors, security toner, or opaque white to create a desired ‘no-label look’ on transparent labels. It features true 1200 x 3600 dpi addressability and quality, and runs at a maximum speed of 9,6m/min at 5 colors, and at a maximum web width of 330mm. Print speed is unaffected by the number of colors used, nor by the repeat length of the job. The digital press runs on Xeikon’s QA-I toner, that allows for substrate use without specific pre-treatment and is compliant with FDA food-approval regulations.

An entry-level printing technology, the Xeikon 3030 can be easily upgraded on site to a higher speed (Xeikon 3300) or a higher speed and wider web (Xeikon 3500) without making any concession on print quality.

THINK BEFORE YOU INK

color es of digital ri e S 0 0 0 3 ard “ The Xeikon real step forw a ts n e s re p d us presses re It has allowe t. e rk a m l e vels for the lab unreached le ly s u io v re p to achieve and quality.” y it v ti c u d ro of p r, — Jay Ziegle g,

tin ales & Marke Tapecon Inc

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Future-proof production capability with Gallus EM 430 S Lines T.W. Parkers, a self-adhesive label and packaging converter, and the UK’s leading supplier of ‘post-mold’ labelling, has installed two Gallus EM 430 S lines at its plant in Bootle on Merseyside to boost efficiency and broaden the scope of its production capability.

The two flexo presses replace three older 330mm wide presses, and according to Parkers, have ‘doubled running speeds and have the additional benefit of a wider web width.’

Established originally in 1952 as a supplier of paper bags to the grocery trade, the company has always been involved with food packaging, and moved into labels and carton production with a mix of flexo and offset press technology. But, it was the company’s quest for innovation that led it to become an award winning label converter when it developed specialist techniques and knowhow to develop

the market for post-mold labelling of food containers.

Still under family ownership, with Tim and Toby Parker at the helm, the company underwent a major programme of expansion five years ago with the appointment of Eugene Roche as Operations & Development Director, and Phil Hood as Sales Director. Since 2007, turnover has more than doubled to £7.3 million, and Roche is now well on course for achieving ‘world class’ plant effectiveness of 88% by the end of 2013, having raised it from 55% to 78% already.

The two new Gallus presses are a key element in this improved efficiency.

Part of an investment programme that topped £2 million, the company chose Gallus presses after extensive testing and detailed negotiations to ensure that the manufacturer could precisely meet Parkers’ requirements, and, as far as was possible to predict, future-proof customer changes in demand. “We considered all options including having our existing presses reconditioned, but came to the conclusion that to move the game on we needed a fresh start.

The Gallus machines offered that, handling all of the customer jobs we test printed,” explained Roche. He is also quick to praise the support and

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49 understanding of the Gallus teams in the UK and St Gallen, who listened carefully to Parkers’ particular needs and created a special solution to meet them.

The Gallus EM 430 S is a further development of Gallus’ existing 410 mm wide press, and those at Parkers were the first off the production line, so a close working liaison between manufacturer and user was always going to be essential to maximise the benefit for both. Key to the success of the new presses has been their ability to hold tight register at high speed on PET, foil and unsupported film materials. “The Gallus’ ability with fine print and cold foil has given us a useful sales tool because it’s a reliable form of added value decoration,” explained Hood, adding: “We now have an extended and more versatile capability across a variety of substrates, and an improvement in quality that is out of all recognition.” Part of the investment package included web monitoring with a camera to improve quality. Fitted with visual and audible warnings, the inspecting units can be set to predetermined parameters to allow the presses to run at high speed.

Specified with eight UV-flexo stations,

cold foil laminating, automatic register and two die stations, the Gallus EM 430 S is something of a hybrid, with servo drive, and crucially for ease of operation, sleeve technology on each station for the loading and unloading of print cylinders and anilox rolls.

Its modular platform design concept allows for flexo and screen heads to be switched quickly and easily, and with its sliding touch-screen panel that allows the operator to control the press from any point along the line, it is well suited to short and medium run work on paper and plastic substrates.

According to Eugene Roche, the new Gallus presses have changed the mindset at Parkers. By listening closely to our requirements, the Swiss manufacturer has: “created two pieces of high quality engineering that exactly meet our needs for production efficiency, and done so in a bespoke and flexible package that made commercial sense for us and them,” he said. Roche claims the staff at Parkers is keenly aware of the need for enhanced productivity, and has enjoyed a £1 million increase in turnover since the Gallus presses were installed. Their arrival prompted a rethink on the production floor, which brought about a change in workflow pattern, and Roche has instigated the

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‘pit stop’ mentality to reduce downtime to a minimum.

Currently, production divides between PET and aluminium lids (technically known as diaphragms), self-adhesive labels, and post-mold labels applied to pots. Virtually all work carried out at the Bootle site is for the food industry, and in 2012 the company attained BRC accreditation that allows it to supply all supermarkets with a continuous audit trail. Interestingly, the market for lids in the UK differs from the rest of Europe.

“Most UK supermarkets and packers prefer the print finish and flexibility of PET,” commented Phil Hood.

Clearly evident from the visit to T.W. Parkers is the degree of mutual respect that exists between the company and its manufacturing supplier Gallus, and the close working relationship that is required in today’s competitive market place to succeed.

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Advanced Lineas Winding System, Reinventing the rewinder Jordi Prat, Technical Director Slitting & Rewinding, COMEXI PROSLIT COMEXI GROUP

Currently academic interest focuses on technical-scientific results. However, before arriving at these results, there is always an idea from which work starts. Thanks to the experience of the engineers and technicians who developed these ideas and their knowledge and contact with the market, innovative solutions are born.

The extensive experience and ongoing relationship with machine users has led Comexi Proslit engineers to develop an optimal rewind solution.

Comparison and definition of rewinding (center winder & centersurface) When it comes to rewinding, the center-surface winder provides a higher quality since the rewind point is always the same. In this technique, neither the rewind diameter nor the rewind point has an impact on quality. Thus, the same distance is always guaranteed between the slit and rewind point while maintaining material stability.

Furthermore, since the rewinder leans on the rewind lay-on roller there is no flexion in the resulting reel, thus obtaining better results. This system also has a web driver between the slitting station and rewinder to help improve the quality of the final result.

This system has considerable advantages when compared to current central rewinding systems. According to the above, a central drum machine with independent arms and a centersurface rewind system will produce better quality and a better product profile at high speeds. In addition, the machine can reach large rewind diameters, suitable of a conventional duplex or turret slitter.

However, despite the higher rewind quality of this system, the market adopted the central rewind system as the standard due to productivity reasons since a central drum machine has slower changeovers. Furthermore, central rewind machines are more versatile, profitable and easier to use and can provide acceptable quality rolls. It was upon these premises that the DUPLEX machines (double rewind shaft machine for slitting flexible material) and later the TURRET machines (for improved productivity) were designed.

Productivity TURRET vs. DUPLEX: The main disadvantage of the DUPLEX slitter-rewinders is their low productivity.

If we consider stop times for splicing, parent reel changes, knife changes, rewind stops for removing reels and inserting new sleeves (generally in work changes and orders), the total stop time can reach up to 70% with only 30% production time. Even so, this system still remains much more productive than a CENTRAL DRUM machine (considering the mid web sector with diameters no larger than 600-800mm).

On the other hand, the turret system reverses the numbers. With the same amount of change jobs as a DUPLEX machine we obtain productivity results of 30% stop time (stops, parent reel

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changes, jobs, etc.) and 70% production, considering that a turret machine is always calculated to produce at least 40% more than a double shaft DUPLEX machine.

Example of a comparison between Duplex and Turret: Let’s take the production of BOPP 50µ, input diameter in unwind Ø800mmx1200mm in width = 15254 linear meters. We want to obtain rewind reels each Ø450mmx200mm in width = 3050 linear meters. Considering that the maximum production speed is 400mts/min.

Innovation in the REWIND LAY-ON ROLLER + TURRET SYSTEM In order to surmount the various disadvantages of both systems, Comexi Proslit has incorporated into its entire DUPLEX and TURRET ranges the ALTS system (advance lineal track system) which has many rewind advantages, making it possible to combine any material imaginable with other traditional systems.

Proslit launches the new S-TURRET with the ALWS system (advanced linear winding system) in turret: Aware of the benefits of center-surface rewinding and the market’s need to increase productivity, the ALWS system (advanced linear winding system) has been incorporated into

the S-Turret. The system stands out for its innovative characteristics and although the system is not entirely center-surface, it operates as such and has many similarities including: 1.The rewind point is always the same regardless of the rewind diameter, always guaranteeing the same distance between the slit and rewind point.

2 The rewinder leans against the pressure roller, although this system operates with shafts, and the pressure roller is in turn supported at all times by the ends of this shaft. This may improve quality in the CENTER-SURFACE system since its horizontal movement maintains contact in the same quadrant of the reel throughout the entire process, without applying pressure or counter-pressure as observed by the absence of an arch.

3. Final rewind diameter up to 1000mm.

While taking advantage of the productivity of the CENTRAL REWIND system, with experience in modern machines such as: 1.Versatile and profitable 2. Handling and changes 3. Horizontal rewind pressure roller system or LAY-ON ROLLER similar to ALTS Proslit.

4. Revolving system (NON-STOP) Proslit S-TURRET is most definitely the sum of all the advantages of these systems: CENTER- SURFACE rewinding to guarantee the best quality, NON-STOP TURRET to maximize productivity and finally the Advanced Linear Winding System.

2013 Packaging Excellence Awards For more information go to www.afta.com.sg

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The importance of in-line, automated web controls Maintain margins and reduce waste for packaging converters

Randy Freeman, General Manager: Packaging, QuadTech

With their fast changeover and high speed capabilities, the latest generation of presses certainly provide the platform for a lean production environment in which waste is driven out of the workflow.

Bleed Out Notice the lack of sharpness in the bleed out But without reliable, high-performance press controls that enable the press to run uninterrupted at full speed throughout the run, these advances in press technology cannot be exploited to full potential. Solutions are urgently needed, not only because of demands for higher quality brand presentation; errors on pharmaceutical or medical packaging can have fatal consequences.

Thankfully, a new generation of systems are able to offer a standardized, objective means of measuring color and precision inspection, in-line, without compromising performance.

Furthermore, systems are available that can handle the full variety of film and paper substrates, including transparent, supported, unsupported, and reflective types.

Color standardization is vital A common industry color standard is increasingly necessary as brand owners insist on identical color consistency for product packaging at a global level.

Spectophotometric measurement,

using spectral response and L*a*b* values, provides the most objective way to describe color. But it is the frequency with which results can be taken that makes in-line solutions so much more reliable. While hand-held devices may be capable of taking a few readings during the course of a production run, the latest in-line systems have software powerful enough to take readings, from as many as 72 image targets, continuously.

Configuration In flexographic and gravure printing applications, an in-line inspection and color measurement system comprises a spectral sensor, a video camera, a lighting system (to illuminate the target areas and ensure the substrate image is captured under suitable, uniform conditions), high-powered software to process the image, and central data repository to enable at-a-glance viewing of print defect information, registration and spectral data as well as communication with other systems in

Hazing -:The hazing effect appears faintly as white against the black background between the image areas. the workflow. The sensor and lighting are located after the final printing station.

Why in-line?

An in-line inspection

and

color

Ink Miss- this is self explanatory. Missing ink can be due to contamination or plate wear for instance.

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

53 measurement system provides a number of important benefits: - The ability to monitor quality throughout the production run, for 100 percent of the printed web, not just at the end of each roll.

- Elimination of much human intervention - A platform for a reliable, stable means of monitoring quality and fast remedial action - Ability to reach color targets faster, thus reducing material waste Camera specifications Faster cameras are available to enable the latest generation of gravure and flexo presses to perform without quality compromise at higher speeds.

Recommended inspection camera resolutions are 250dpi, although a maximum of 2500dpi is possible; cameras must be able to detect defects from < 0.1 to 0.2 mm across the web, and 0.15 to 0.35 mm in the printing direction. The print width, the minimum defect size, and the print speed are the factors that determine how many cameras are needed.

Cross-substrate resolution is critical.

The printing process is a dynamic process. For instance, an ink splash, spherical as it approaches the substrate, becomes a long, oval stain due to the substrate’s relative velocity. In gravure, doctor blade defects are serious, potentially running for kilometres, but may be just 0.1mm wide. The narrowest field of view (FOV) per camera is 180mm, although optics to allow for narrower FOVs are possible. There is no limit on the maximum width.

Lighting Typically, several cameras carry out the inspection, with solid-state lamps providing a constant illumination level on the substrate’s target inspection area. The key criteria that determine the camera and lamp types for a packaging press are: • the mix of substrates used • maximum printing speed • maximum print width • the desired resolution Lighting systems with adjustable intensity and specific angles enable in-line inspection of transparent, translucent, reflective and opaque substrates. Three lights would be included in the configuration: a highintensity top light for non-reflective and non-transparent surfaces; a lowintensity foil light for reflective surfaces and inks; a back light, both illuminating and providing contrast for transparent or semi-transparent substrates. White

SpectralCam camera, which is crucial in colour measurement.

LED temperature-controlled, actively cooled lamps offer longer life, more reliable consistency, and can even can be configured to illuminate color in the ultra-violet spectrum. Invisible inks are increasingly incorporated into packaging for anti-counterfeit or safety purposes.

Stabilizing Equipment Tension is no longer an obstacle when measuring unsupported substrates thanks to the web stabilizer, which provides a stable, controlled way of taking spectral color measurements on transparent and opaque films or paper, on-the-fly, without risk of corrugation, a phenomenon that could affect measurements or damage the substrate.

The stabilizer consists of a flat-top, low-friction platform with two BCRA (British Ceramic Research Association) tiles: one black, measuring substrate opacity, and one white, measuring color.

High definition detection Thanks to software advancements, on-the-fly high-definition viewing of dot-profiles is possible.

Images are captured at up to 2500dpi and made available to the operator via the user interface. As a result, a host of defects common to central-impression flexo, such as pin-holing, bridging, doughnuts and halos, can be identified Proof-Plate-Print Workflow gives the vision of a closed-loop workflow, emphasising the security, consistency and reliability offered by the Golden Template concept.

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54 In addition to color and web data, it can store a fixed Golden Template reference image for each job, and pick up every small defect deviating from this perfect image taken at the beginning of the run in good copy. Full integration of the inspection equipment into the press and the company communication network is also possible. The central database provides a data connection between the inspection system and slitter/rewinder equipment for fast, efficient marking and removal of defective roll material.

Performance data is stored and made available for analysis via the database server.

and remedied without production stoppages.

Golden Template An important topic in flexo printing is the Golden Template Comparison. A Golden Template is a master image that is captured by the inspection system when the press is running good copy.

Every printed repeat is compared to that original Golden Template. High performance software and hardware is needed to track movements in the print direction and compensate for web stretch, as well as to make accurate comparisons between printed output and target on the fly. There are two important benefits of a Golden Template. First, it results in a fixed reference with a stable, repeatable quality. Secondly, it is more sensitive to slow-growing defects such as register, streaking and color changes.

PDF Verification

Missing Character wrong dosage information can have fatal consequences. In this case, the ‘3’ is missing, where in fact it should read ‘30 tablets’.

For added assurance, a PDF verification program makes structural comparisons between the Golden Template and the customer-approved digital artwork file. This alerts the operator about cylinder set-up or plating errors, without the need for visual checks and resolves the problem of inspecting packages that include multi-language information or different alphabets. A fixed PDF reference eliminates the problem of emerging defects such as subtle color changes that can be missed by alternative systems that even periodically change the reference image, let alone roll from one image to the next with every impression.

Software integration A waste management system should allow control of the slitter-rewinder speed, waste removal and roll splicing.

This frees the operator from relying on error-prone, time consuming manual detection methods. New tagless defect tracking features use weight to determine waste removal and avoid the need to contaminate a roll with tags.

A central repository audits, stores and generates reports of both current and historical data, enabling trend analysis and defect traceability. Important benefits of such a system would be ease of integration within the corporate IT network for maximum accessibility, and the ability to store job settings, simplifying setup times.

Closed loop color measurement enables feedback to seamlessly affect the output of other systems in the print workflow. Industry players are collaborating to allow data to be easily exported between compatible software systems, to extend the closed loop from color measurement to ink formulation.

Customer-defined targets (e.g. supplied by a color standard library, a Color Exchange format (.CxF) or color samples), are evaluated. Spectral curve data is obtained and loaded into an ink formulation software, to create the spot-color formulae which are used by an in-house dispensing system to dose the ink stations.

The color targets are loaded into the color measurement system software.

The color target data is referenced with live color measurements that can be taken at full press speeds. Any color deviations are automatically captured and reported in ∆E values. This measurement data can be sent back automatically to the ink formulation software, via .CxF file, where any ink recipe changes can be generated.

Conclusion The modern in-line, spectrophotometric, integrated color measurement and inspection system has come of age. It reaches quality targets faster, reducing start-up material waste; it gives reassurance of accuracy throughout the production run; it provides a means of minimizing labor costs. This technology, therefore, is an essential factor in an industry where getting perfect results first time, every time is not a luxury, but a given.

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BEGIN WITH EFI. END WITH GREATER PROFIT. OPTIMIZE YOUR PERFORMANCE AND PROFIT POTENTIAL FROM JOB ACQUISITION TO PRODUCTION.

EFI™ is the only company in the printing industry to provide integrated end-to-end workflow solutions, including web-based job acquistion, print MIS solutions, a high-performance inkjet production RIP solution, and wide-format digital inkjet output devices. Our award-winning solutions are proven to deliver increased performance, cost savings and significant productivity improvements.

Visit www.efi.com for the complete end-to-end story. Or call +65 6220 1355 for more information. ©2011 EFI. All rights reserved.

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L'Oréal Inaugurates the World's Largest Factory in Indonesia L'Oréal recently announced the inauguration of a new plant in the world's biggest, which was established with the building of 66,000sqm in Jababeka Industrial Estate, West Java, Indonesia, about 60km east of Jakarta. With a total investment of Rp 1.25 trillion (€100M), it becomes the centre of production of L'Oréal in Southeast Asia.

“After successfully operating the plant since 1986, Indonesia is certainly a good choice as a centre of production of L'Oréal in ASEAN. Establishing our biggest factory in Indonesia once again reflects the dedication of L'Oréal to offer products with the best quality and value for consumers in Indonesia and the ASEAN region,” said JeanPhilippe Blainpain, Executive VicePresident of Operations of L'Oréal.

In line with the L'Oréal Group's ambition to reach 1 billion new consumers in the past 10 years, the factory is a response to growing market demand in Indonesia and ASEAN represents a new potential for the growth of L'Oréal.

“In Indonesia, L'Oréal business continued to show a good performance

with an average sales growth to +30%, which makes L'Oréal Indonesia as one of the major contributors to the growth in the Asia Pacific region,” said Vismay Sharma, President Director of PT L'Oréal Indonesia.

Leading facility dedicated exclusively for consumer products L'Oréal first factory in Indonesia was established in 1986 in Ciracas, Jakarta. With the rapid growth in the past 4 years, L'Oréal decided to build a new and larger facility, and move all production activities to a new plant, located at the Jababeka.

As a manufacturer L'Oréal to-43 in the world, the new plant will produce Jababeka hair and skin care products for brands mass-market segment, namely L'Oréal Paris and Garnier. 30%

of the production will be allocated to the domestic market while 70% of production will be distributed to other countries in Southeast Asia.

In 2013, the factory is expected to produce 200 million units and has an installed capacity of up to 300 million units, with a potential reach production capacity of 500 million units per year.

The factory is equipped with leadingedge facilities such as high-speed production lines; tank processing with automated dispensing systems management; lighting system based

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Commitment to sustainable development The factory was built with LEED requirements, a standardisation of the United States that places excellence of design and building process on key aspects of sustainable conservation, including energy and water efficiency; setting the air, use of materials and natural resources, and environmental quality.

“This certification makes L'Oréal factory as the first factory to earn LEED Silver certification in Indonesia,” said David Quetin, Factory Director of L'Oréal Indonesia.

He adds, “We are committed to continuously reduce the impact on the environment and is currently conducting several studies to create and support renewable energy sources.”

Since 2005, L'Oréal Indonesia has reduced waste and water consumption per unit by 52% and CO2 emissions per unit up to 38%. L'Oréal is the target to reduce absolute CO2 emissions by 50% from 2005 to 2015 (from 2,000 to 1,000 tons).

Contribution to Community and Economy L'Oréal employs a total of nearly 800 employees in Indonesia where about 450 men working at a new plant in Jababeka. In the process of moving the factory, L'Oréal may retain 96% of employees of the old factory in Ciracas. To facilitate the shift to a new plant in Jababeka within 40 km from the old mill, L'Oréal provide housing and transportation incentives for employees. Today, about 262 families of employees can have a place to stay around the new plant.

In addition, the plant is planned to be developed based on the needs of this market, will also seek to maximise the use of local materials and suppliers.

L'Oréal also built a mosque for the local community, where workers and communities can use to worship together.

Mohamad S. Hidayat, Minister of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia asserted, "The Indonesian government

appreciates the steps taken by the L'Oréal Group in support of the development of the industrial sector in Indonesia, especially the beauty industry, through the opening of their factory in Indonesia."

M. Chatib Basri, the head of the Investment Coordinating Board of Indonesia added: “L'Oréal decision to build the world's biggest factories in Indonesia and chose Indonesia as a production hub for the Southeast Asian region, is a major breakthrough in the history of investing in Indonesia.

Indonesia is a reflection of the radar return of the investment world.”

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The Natural Solution for Confectionery Packaging Waxed paper has been wrapping confectionery, cheese, and meat beautifully and naturally for a long time, and today there are even more good reasons for its continuing and increasing popularity.

According to the European waxed paper packaging manufacturers’ association, EuroWaxPack, their product’s environmental credentials have recently been proven by tests at an independent expert laboratory.

The tests add real value for users of this established and versatile packaging medium by declaring it to be compostable and biodegradable according to the European EN 13432 standard. A summary of the tests results are appended in a separate document.

Paper: the heart of the product At the heart of waxed paper packaging is the paper itself – usually a highstrength uncoated calendered grade, which may be printed according to the brand owner’s brief in up to ten colours (and metallics, if desired) on today’s leading-edge roll-to-roll presses, using inks approved for indirect food contact. In-line serialisation and barcoding are also possible. The

printed web is then one- or two-sides coated with a specially-formulated wax (either vegetable or petroleum based) to give the protective qualities of moisture- and water- resistance while gently cushioning the pack contents.

Confectionery products are wrapped at high speeds on today’s advanced packaging lines, either as twist wraps or as folded and sealed packaging.

Delivering the finished packaging Says Frans Martens, President of EuroWaxPack and Managing Director of specialist converters Cats-Haensel (Germany): "The results of our new compostability tests prove that waxed paper has something special to offer to today’s confectionery brand owners – something that plastic film-based wraps cannot match. Waxed paper provides a number of environmental benefits – biodegradable, compostable, recyclable, renewable – and its functional performance is outstanding.

Consumers also benefit from the “silent opening” qualities of waxed paper wrappers – a real plus point in the cinema or theatre!

As a printer/converter myself, I am also aware of the benefits of running paper-based, wax-coated packaging on my production lines. There’s no static loading as with film products, and I can assist the brand owner’s packaging people by optimising such key features of the wax coating as slip, barrier, release, gloss level, and sealability."

EuroWaxPack Vice President Alexandra Venot, Product Manager,

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Flexible Packaging within the Label and Processing business area at specialty papers manufacturer Ahlstrom adds: "We deliver products that are sustainably sourced and manufactured in a safe and reliable manner. They are made from responsibly sourced fibre materials, which are fully renewable. Our papers’ high sustainability credentials make them the ideal “core” for confectionery wrapping applications. They offer a choice of weights, fibre blends, and surface finishes, so we are able to work with the wax supplier and the converter to deliver to brand owners productspecific results that not only perform perfectly, but also look great."

Food-approved wax coating Wax coatings used for food packaging are today increasingly made using modified vegetable oils. According to Steffen Osinga, Marketing Manager for wax specialist company Paramelt, these products are primarily sourced from vegetable oil producers who supply under a sustainable production policy. Developed in the early 1990s, this technology has driven paperbased wrapping to its current very high standards. It has enabled EuroWaxPack members to provide end users with the optimal natural answer in terms of packaging functionality, sustainability and renewability.

Proof of compostability The strict conditions for certification to EN 13432, ‘Requirements for Packaging Recoverable through Composting and Biodegradation’ are shown to be met in full by a typical waxed paper, according to independent testing laboratory Organic Waste Systems (OWS), Belgium, who conducted extensive testing on EuroWaxPack’s behalf. Says Frans Martens: "The test results enable EuroWaxPack members to support their customers with an assessment of the potential compostability of the waxed paper packaging materials that they use – so food producers who use our products can be confident that their packaging materials could well comply with EN 13432, and qualify for other worthwhile certifications like ‘OK Compost’ and ‘Compostable’."

The answer to a strong current challenge In the context of the challenging combination of today’s environmental sensibilities and the need to achieve, cost-effectively, packaging that offers applied performance and eyecatching aesthetics, waxed paper packaging represents an established and proven solution – naturally.

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Food for thought Recycling the daily newspaper has, happily, become second nature for most people, as putting rinsed milk bottles out for the milkman was a regular evening task of yesteryear. Since it is expected that newsprint will be disposed of, it is produced from low-grade paper, with bleaching rarely used as in graphic arts and publishing grades.

Therefore, recycled newspaper stock is in many ways ideal for producing everyday food packaging, such as breakfast cereal boxes, which are also made to be thrown away after use. And, of course, a grey-coloured finish from remaining ink in the material is hardly an issue when on the inside of a box.

Given the sheer amount of packaging that a modern society gets through, it is important to be as ecologically sound as possible and the use of newsprint as a starting point helps with this. However, the everyday lifecycle of newsprint to recycling plant to packaging printer to supermarket shelf was stopped abruptly and brought to the attention of British shoppers in 2011, when Jordans Ryvita, part of the Associated British Foods group, ceased use of recycled stock for its breakfast cereals due to health concerns.

Jordans Ryvita, which made its name in the UK for its environmental sensitivity and actions to protect wildlife, reacted to a study carried out by the Food Safety Laboratory of the Canton Zurich, Switzerland which found that mineral oils were leaching out of the newsprint ink still contained within the

drupa 2012 featured innovations in the recycling process. recycled board of cereal cartons and into the food contained within.

According to research leader Dr Koni Grob, around 89 food products from a sample of 119 bought from a German supermarket exceeded the UN and World Health Organisation agreed safe limit for mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) - ‘most’ by over ten times. The issue was compounded by expectations of MOSH levels rising to an average of 50 times more than the limit ‘and many will exceed it several hundred times’ long term – the longer the food was kept in the packaging, the more dangerous it was expected to become. Of the 30 or so samples that didn’t exhibit MOSH contaminants, “nearly all” were “because of an inner barrier” said Dr Grob.

Dr Grob explained that the results of some animal studies on mineral oil contaminants in food had uncovered cancer and chronic inflammation of a number of internal organs, caused by oil mixtures amassing in the body over time. Owing to their large surface

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62 samples. In a batch of 51 samples, all were found to contain MOSH.

According to McDonald’s, the cardboard packaging used for its foods is comprised of 72% recycled paper. area, breakfast cereals are especially susceptible to absorption of the gaseous hydrocarbon molecules that make up the mineral oils.

Now, there’s no suggestion that any products from Jordans Ryvita were included in the Swiss test. But the findings were enough to cause the company to rethink its own packaging, and several other food providers followed suit. Global cereal brand Kellogg’s also announced plans to reduce the amount of mineral oil in its own recycled cardboard packaging.

“While experts tell us there’s no immediate health concern, we are looking at our packaging,” Kellogg’s stated. “We are working with our suppliers on new packaging which allows us to meet our environmental commitments but will also contain significantly lower levels of mineral oil.

We are also looking at alternative inner

liners for our packets.”

Weetabix took a similar tack, specifying newspaper pulp as the problem in a statement to the BBC in the UK: “Weetabix is actively engaged with its packaging suppliers to consider alternative recycled packaging that doesn’t contain recycled newspapers,” it said.

The British media homed in on words like ‘toxic’ and ‘cancerous’, saving the messages of calm from the UK’s food industry representatives – and indeed Dr Grob himself, who stated that consumers would have to ingest contaminated foods over a long period of time to be at risk – to the end of news reports or giving them little attention. Indeed, it was newsworthy in itself that such major household names as Weetabix and Kellogg’s, and the famously environmentally conscious Jordans Ryvita, were changing their packaging in the face of such advice.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA), the governing authority on food safety in the UK, followed up the Swiss research on contaminated foods with its own studies on recycled packaging and ink ingredients found in it. Its tests detected one or more of the ink components under scrutiny in 84 of its 350 samples of packaging, including amounts of the photoinitiator benzophenone in 37, or 11%, of the

Kellogg’s has changed its cereal boxes many times since this Rice Krispies carton from 1938 – including to packaging with a lower mineral oil content in 2011.

The FSA concluded that there was no cause for public alarm, stating that a risk assessment carried out on the survey's findings did not identify any specific food safety concerns. “The FSA's advice is that there is no need for consumers to change their eating habits with respect to food that has been packaged in new or recycled carton-board,” was the message. UK food industry representative group the Food and Drink Federation released a similar statement: “Swiss food safety authorities have concluded that consumers who eat a balanced and varied diet have no need to worry.”

The International Association of the Deinking Industry (INGEDE) has highlighted that deinking newspapers as part of the recycling process can help to reduce mineral oils and thus the health risks associated with them – but emphasises that there are nominal concerns to begin with.

“Clearly, that stuff should not be in our food. But there are many other chemicals that also should not be somewhere and that should be taken care of when you start hunting migrated mineral oils,” comments Axel Fischer, chemist and head of public relations at INGEDE. “Not to [mention] the proven health concerns associated with the fats and oils you deliberately ingest.

Anyway, deinking is a way to get some of them out of the system.”

There is concern however, that the printing industry will still be perceived publicly to have an environmental record as muddy-grey as the recycled paper it uses. Much has been done by the sector to improve its practices and its reputation, but a headline-grabber like well-known companies dropping recycled stock could have a negative effect – even if it is followed up by clear messages to its safety from authorised sources. Many food businesses have continued to use recycled material in their packaging but bad news travels further and for longer.

In addition, questions may also be asked about why the cereal brands, packaging producers and printers

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63 did not act on the problem earlier, particularly when both Weetabix and Kellogg’s announced they would switch to board with lower or zero mineral oil contaminants, possibly suggesting data was available to them to compare safety in this regard. It could be that more printers are now using mineral oil-free inks and therefore switching to these inks was an overdue move.

environmental impact. This uncovered “an obvious gap in knowledge and understanding” of standards concerning the label’s use, according to Gareth Parker, value proposition manager for Production Print at Ricoh UK. The research surveyed respondents from 25 European and Middle Eastern countries, 90% of whom were print service providers.

Fischer’s point that deinking paper might reduce the risks of mineral oil contamination even further may be one for the printing sector to consider as part of the wider campaign to raise consciousness of both environmental and safety issues – subjects that should go hand in hand.

“PEFC and FSC-sourced paper and food packaging safety certification came out as one of the most important factors for respondents,” explains Parker, but this is in contrast to deinking, also covered in the survey. “Deinking was not highly rated as an area of concern, with 4% of respondents seeing it as critical to sustainability, 28% rating it as important, 22% not important and 48% did not understand its relevance.”

During the inaugural EcoPrint show in Berlin in September 2012, print technology developer Ricoh surveyed visitors' opinions on sustainability and the EU Ecolabel, which aims to help consumers identify products and services with an overall lower

Parker sums up the conclusion of these discrepancies: “Sustainable printing is very much a growing issue and our belief is that a great deal of

education is needed to raise the profile of sustainable print. Sustainability still needs clarification in printers’ minds.”

It is, therefore, not only a case of promoting print as a sustainable and safe industry to consumers, but within the sector itself. With everyone – from equipment developers to print service providers – on the same page regarding the use and outcome of recycling technologies, end users and the public will be reassured that the everyday products they use are not harmful.

Furthermore, with wider knowledge, the print industry will be prepared to answer the public’s questions about the safety and environmental impact of their products, before they arise.

This article is part of the Verdigris series of stories about understanding the environmental impact of print. The Verdigris project is supported by Agfa Graphics, Canon Europe, Digital Dots, drupa, HP, Ricoh, Splash PR, Unity Publishing, EFI, Pragati Offset and Xeikon.

Rotary Engineering expanding into Asia Australian-owned Rotary Engineering, has released its latest digital finishing press to the Australasian market.

Called the Rotomag 340 SPF, Rotary Managing Director, Peter Jessop, described as a high-speed quick change unit, built to the highest quality standard and coming with German servos and electronics.

“The Rotomag 340 will deliver a 340 web width, is servo driven to register with two servo flexographic units for re-register or over print/coating,” explained Peter. “It has a laminating unit with cold foil options, two heavy-duty die units, back-cut, slitter/ stripping, dual rewind and comes with an optional sheeter.

“It will deliver a finished product with speeds of up to 120mpm and can be operated by personnel with little previous experience.”

The Rotomag brand of flexo presses and converting equipment, has proven itself over 35 years of design and construction and has recently expanded its vision into S-E Asia, via the establishment a manufacturing facility in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as its major production facilities in Sydney.

According to Peter, this move into Asian manufacturing, will offer customers high quality products at an affordable price. “We have full servo solutions as well as direct drive models,” added Peter. “Our press widths range from 250mm,340mm/520mm - up to 1,000mm and features include Corona Treater, UV, foiling and high velocity dryer for packaging.

“Another service we can offer, is a servo-driven die unit that can be fitted to older machines, that will allow them to die cut to register. Using your existing equipment means a substantial saving. If you’re thinking of going digital, we have a great deal of experience converting existing presses and slitters that can be retrofitted, so you can die cut pre-printed stock to register.

“Our manufacturing range includes flexo coaters, die-cutters, single wide web, RFID inserters, fan folders, jumbo unwind/rewind and digital finishing converting equipment.”

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TETRA PAK completes €42 million site expansion in Singapore Tetra Pak announced that the company has inaugurated a Coconut Knowledge Centre and completed a €42 million (S$67 million) investment to upgrade and expand its operations in Singapore, which includes a state-of-the art printer and new building.

The investment is designed to meet customer needs across the growing Southeast Asian market and to improve the company’s competitiveness in other parts of the world.

“The Coconut Knowledge Centre’s objective is to build market and technology expertise that will extend our leadership in coconut beverage innovation.

This will be very important for our customers in the region who are growing their local markets and expanding sales abroad, particularly in the US,” said Rusty Kekuewa, Tetra Pak Vice President, South and Southeast Asia.

Coconut water is a popular beverage in Asian countries but has generated increasing interest and sales in developed countries in recent years as a sports and health drink. Global coconut water consumption is expected to increase, driven mostly by the United States.

Volume sales of coconut water in Tetra Pak packages have grown by an average of 26% annually from 2007 to 2011.

Three of the world’s largest producers of coconuts are located in South and Southeast Asia – Indonesia, India and the Philippines – accounting for over 75% of total world production, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

The Coconut Knowledge Centre will provide technology and innovation support to customers; build knowledge of coconut products such as water, milk and cream; develop new recipes and expand knowledge sharing amongst its international network of coconut experts.

Tetra Pak also announced the completion of a €42 million investment in its Singapore operations that took place over the course of three years. The

investment included a new printer installation and a laminator upgrade in its packaging material factory that will boost production capacity by 33% from 15 billion to 20 billion packs per year. It also included new facilities for staff and customers.

“Demand for food processing and packaging solutions in this region has been on the rise, and looks set to continue to climb over the next decade,” said Kekuewa. He noted that demand for Tetra Pak packages in the region is forecast to nearly double from 2012 to 2020.

“Tetra Pak continues to invest to deliver on innovation and quality to our customers in the region and around the

world,” said Kekuewa.

Both the new printer, which boasts the cutting edge Flexo process, and the upgraded laminator began production earlier this year. The additional capacity will enable the plant to produce packages with closures requiring pre-laminated holes. This will be used for Tetra Brik® Aseptic packages with Helicap 23 & 27. Next year the plant will be producing Tetra Prisma® Aseptic 330ml and 1000ml packages.

Exports from the Singapore plant serve 45 markets, with around 90% heading for countries in South and Southeast Asia. Tetra Pak’s business units and functions located there include one of

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Toppan Printing develops a laminated packaging material for food and medicines As a new product in its series of BIOAXX™ products that use biomass plastics, Toppan Printing Co., Ltd has developed a laminated packaging material that uses biomass polyethylene film (biomass PE) with a thickness of less than 40µm. As a flexible packaging material for items such as food and medicines, the launch of mass production is targeted for the spring of 2013.

This product is the first laminated packaging material in Japan to use biomass PE with a thickness of less than 40µm, which has been achieved through the use of laminating technology that differs from conventional techniques.

The product uses plant-derived raw materials but maintains performance equivalent to conventional petroleumbased products in terms of properties such as seal strength and laminating strength.

Background to development Biomass plastic is a renewable resource that uses plant-derived raw materials and can be used sustainably. It contributes to the establishment of a sustainable society because it enables a reduction in the volume of oil and other fossil resources used. It is receiving attention as an environmentally friendly material because CO2 in the atmosphere is

absorbed when the plants are growing, and because the CO2 absorbed during plant growth is considered to offset any CO2 released if the product is incinerated, meaning that it is possible to reduce CO2 emissions when compared with petroleum-based products.

In 1991, Toppan Printing began efforts to develop and commercialise packaging materials using biomass plastics as part of its initiatives to mitigate global warming and reduce the use of oil. In 2011, the company was the first in Japan to develop a laminated packaging material using biomass PE with a thickness of more than 100µm.

This has been commercialised as a flexible packaging material for liquids and is used in applications such as refill standing pouches for toiletries. Using a laminating technology that differs from

conventional ones, Toppan Printing has developed a laminated packaging material that uses biomass PE with a thickness of less than 40µm. It will be possible to expand the use of this material as flexible packaging in wide ranging fields including food and medicine.

Features of the product I - A thickness of less than 40µm has been achieved with biomass PE Previous laminated packaging materials using biomass PE have been manufactured using dry lamination where the films are laminated using an adhesive. With this product, it has been possible to produce biomass PE with a thickness of less than 40µm by establishing a biomass PE processing technology where extrusion-laminating technology is used to produce a thin coat of PE that has been melted to one side of a substrate film.

II - Biomass ratio of more than 10% achieved With the establishment of the biomass PE extrusion processing technology, Toppan Printing has been successful in developing flexible packaging material that has a biomass ratio of at least around 10%.

III - Seal qualities and laminate strength equivalent to conventional products This product maintains quality equivalent to conventional products in terms of properties such as seal and laminate strength.

Future targets Toppan Printing will continue research and development on this product and aim to begin mass production in the spring of 2013. The company is aiming for sales of 3 billion yen in fiscal 2015 for this product and related orders.

The company will also promote the expansion of the BIOAXX series to other applications such as plastic

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New CDI expands Esko offerings for tag and label printers Esko announces a new addition to its market-leading family of CDI flexo plate imagers with the introduction of the CDI Spark 2420. This new, compact system incorporates the quality and performance for which Esko’s CDI family is renowned. The CDI Spark 2420 is designed for narrow web label converters and combines a different image size with greater plate material flexibility. The new CDI Spark 2420 is thus perfectly positioned to capture business opportunities in the growing tag and label market.

“According to FINAT, global label demand across all print technologies is expected to continuously grow in the coming years, while world label demand growth for 2012/13 is approximately 6-7% (1). To help small to medium printing operations capitalize on these growth opportunities, we introduce this new size CDI. It's the perfect complement to our existing range,” says Jan Buchweitz, Esko Senior Product Manager, Digital Flexo. “The CDI Spark 2420 fits neatly into our portfolio that includes the CDI Sparks 1712, 2120 and 2530. It provides a more cost-effective solution that better fits plates for those customers that would previously have considered the larger CDI 2530 as the most suitable option.

It demonstrates Esko’s commitment to listen to our customers and to provide solutions that best meet their needs.”

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combination with high definition screening. This helps them offer the exceptional quality sought by brand owners. In addition, the CDI Spark 2420 comes with the choice of Optics 7.5, Optics 10 or Optics 15.

As performance speed is determined by the optics, customers have the flexibility to choose the optics to match their current workflow and business growth.

“With the enhanced CDI Spark range, tag and label printers can find an upgradeable system that matches their investment levels and that delivers the quality and performance they need today,” concludes Buchweitz. “Small to medium companies can develop

at their own pace, confident that they can meet the future expectations of all customers – large or small.”

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Understanding its customers' need to continually expand capabilities and market reach, Esko provides an imaging resolution upgrade path on the CDI Spark 2420. Customers can choose the standard 2000ppi to 2540ppi or upgrade to High Res 2540ppi to 4000ppi or HD Flexo 4000ppi in

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drupa continues 4-Year Cycle – length shortened to 11 Days drupa is to maintain its Olympic 4-year cycle.

This decision was taken by the 20-member drupa committee at its constitutive session held on 2 November 2012.

A key factor in this decision was the international trade fair calendar that is built around the four-yearly cycle of drupa as the world’s most important trade fair for the print and media industry. “Many innovative exhibitors and their successful customers would very much like a more frequent event.

However, the supplier industry plans its entire trade fair marketing activities within a global concept.

Dependable planning is of the utmost importance here in view of the current economic climate and the situation in international sales markets,” explains Kai Büntemeyer, Chairman of the Printing and Paper Technology Association (Fachverband Druckund Papiertechnik) within the VDMA (German Engineering Federation) and President of Global Print.

Founded in 2008, the international association Global Print promotes the global exchange of information on developments in the print and paper industries. In addition to those from Germany, Global Print includes print and paper associations from the USA, China, Japan, India, France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, who together make up nearly a quarter of the world market for printed products.

At the same time, the drupa committee decided to shorten the length of the fair to eleven days – i.e. from 31 May to 10 June 2016. “Visitor structure at drupa has changed. While in the past large groups travelled to the fair – preferably at the weekend – drupa is now increasingly developing into a B2B fair with a high proportion of top decision-makers,” said Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, CEO at Messe Düsseldorf, explaining the decision. “At this year’s drupa 78% of the international visitors and 52% of German visitors came from top management; respectively this is 4 and 5 percentage points more than in 2008. This makes running over two weekends unnecessary. With eleven days – i.e. one weekend and nine working days – we perfectly cater to the needs of both supply and demand.”

The second major item on the agenda of the constitutive session concerned personnel. The body unanimously appointed Dipl.-Ing. Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, as the Chairman of drupa 2016. As in 1995, 2000, 2004 and 2008 Koenig & Bauer will once again be providing drupa’s Chairman in the form of Claus Bolza-Schünemann, now aged 56. “I am delighted to assume the Presidency at such an exciting time. Our sector is developing at a rapid pace and drupa

2016 will represent a key milestone on the path into the future,” explained Claus Bolza-Schünemann.

Dr. Jürgen Vutz, CEO at Windmöller & Hölscher KG was confirmed as Vice Chairman and thus Chairman of the Admissions Committee and Rolf Schwarz, President of the German Printing and Media Industries Federation (Bundesverband Druck und Medien e.V.) was confirmed as the Second Vice Chairman of drupa 2016.

The drupa committee represents the entire technology spectrum – from pre-media and print through to further processing, packaging production and paper processing. Users are also represented here by media service providers – as are the five most important sectoral associations: • Printing and Paper Technology Association (Fachverband Druck- und Papiertechnik) within the VDMA (German Engineering Federation), Frankfurt Internet: http://www.vdma.org/ • German Printing and Media Industries Federation (Bundesverband Druck und Medien – bvdm), Wiesbaden Internet: http://www.bvdm-online.de/ • Paper-Processing Trade Associations (Wirtschaftsverbände Papierverarbeitung – WPV), Darmstadt Internet: http://www.wpv-ev.de • German Pulp and Paper Association (Verband Deutscher Papierfabriken – VDP), Bonn Internet: http//www.vdp-online.de • German Printing Ink Industry Association (Verband der Druckfarbenindustrie – VdD) within the Association of the Mineral Pigments Industry (Verband der Mineralfarbenindustrie e.V.), Frankfurt Internet: http//www.vdmi.de

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Emerald Packaging bags industry first in fresh produce sector with Domino digital printing equipment Leading fresh produce packaging supplier Emerald Packaging is providing consumers with more information on the origins of their food after installing new digital ink jet printing equipment from Domino USA, which marks an industry first for delivering unique human readable and QR codes in a single pass.

The California-based packaging manufacturer, which supplies printed bags to companies including Growers Express, a packer for major food manufacturing brand Jolly Green Giant, invested in Domino’s Bitjet+ inline digital printing system along with its Editor GT ink jet and production line controller in order to print unique QR codes onto each of its bags.

The unique codes, which are supplied by database and software management provider Truetrac, contain a wide range of information on the product including farm locations, grower profiles, food safety notices and nutritional information. These codes are managed by the Editor GT system and printed onto the bags by the Bitjet+.

By scanning the code with a smartphone, consumers can find out everything about the product, including the field in which it was harvested.

Domino's Bitjet+ integrates seamlessly into existing packaging lines and is ideal for adding high resolution, variable data including QR codes, addresses, numbers, barcodes and graphics to a wide range of substrates.

The printer was incorporated into Emerald Packaging’s bag processing line, which produces 150 bags per minute, without any interruption to the manufacturing process.

Emerald Packaging Sales and Marketing Director Todd Somers said: “The Bitjet+ is the first system within the fresh produce packaging sector that prints both a unique QR code and human readable code directly onto the bag.”

“This is important as it enables the end consumer to track back when and where their produce was harvested and packed. This even tracks the item down to the specific field where the produce was grown.”

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AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

73 David Ellen, VP of Digital Printing, Domino North America, added: "With the integration of the Domino Bitjet+ into its bag manufacturing line, Emerald Packaging continues to innovate and add value to its customer relationships.

We look forward to collaborating with Emerald on this and future projects.”

Emerald Packaging, a family owned and operated business, was founded 50 years ago and has a long tradition of high quality products, exceptional customer service and a proven track record of innovation. It produces a wide range of packaging including surface printed rollstock and bags, wicketed bags, OTR specific films, laser micro perforations, film laminations, pouches and Innolok zipper applications.

Lohmann appoints Indonesian distributor Flexo Plate Digital, a leading flexographic repro house in Southeast Asia announced that it has become a Partner of Lohmann, an official distributor of DuploFLEX plate mounting tapes for flexo printing in Indonesia.

Flexo Plate Digital will represent and support all of Lohmann’s graphic segment products in Indonesia.

“Lohmann’s DuploFLEX will provide a powerful addition to Flexo Plate Digital's portfolio of flexographic products and services,” says Eric Oh, CEO of Flexo Plate Digital.

“Lohmann’s award winning tapes will provide Indonesian flexo printers and converters with a wide range of tools and reliable solution to process the most demanding jobs that would set them apart from the rest.”

This partnership is the latest expansion for Lohmann in the Asia Pacific market. Lohmann products and services are already distributed in Singapore, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand.

Nestle Philippines ups facilities in Batangas Nestle Philippines reportedly is revving up the production line for Coffee Mate Creamer as part of the goal to reduce imports from Thailand and Malaysia.

Part of the process is to centralize the

manufacturing and packaging facilities within the newly constructed facility in Tanauan, Batangas, by moving the filling and packing lines from nearby Lipa City by 2013.

"By bringing the filling and packing lines here in the first quarter of next year, we will save much time which will result in a faster production process," Marlou Constantino, Tanauan plant manager, told reporters during a plant tour for the media on Friday.

"In the current process, we send to Lipa for filling and packing the creamer we produce here in Tanauan," Constantino noted.

The Nestle factory in Lipa used to fill and pack the coffee creamer that came from Thailand.

When the Tanauan facility was opened last month, Nestle Philippines chairman and chief executive John Martin Miller told reporters the factory brought the company's total investments in the Philippines to P16 billion and reflected its confidence and commitment to the economy.

The factory would reduce Nestle’s importation of Coffee Mate from Malaysia and Thailand, he added.

20 Years of ArtPro Esko is celebrating two decades of delivering value and partnership through ArtPro, the number one packaging prepress editor for the Mac platform (www.esko.com/ArtPro). “It is hard to believe that ArtPro has been in the market for two full decades,” says Bjorn Willems, Product Manager Interactive Premedia Applications at Esko. “And its capabilities have not stood still over all those years. We have many customers who have been using and benefiting from ArtPro in their packaging workflow since the beginning. ArtPro has grown with their businesses and evolved with market needs, maintaining premier market position in this space. Their wholehearted endorsement of ArtPro speaks for itself.”

ArtPro is a full-featured packaging preproduction editor offering unique technologies and dedicated tools focused on relieving major prepress pain points. It supports all industry standard file formats and can be integrated into any packaging workflow. When seamlessly integrated with ArtiosCAD and Automation Engine, ArtPro turns Esko’s unmatched packaging software into a complete and unbeatable solution.

Voice of the customer In honor of ArtPro’s 20th birthday, Esko turned to long-time users for their perspective on how ArtPro has benefited their businesses. “After all,” adds Willems, “without customer acceptance and endorsement, no product would be successful. The comments you see here are just a few of the well-wishes we received from our ArtPro customer base around the world on this historic occasion.”

A 20th birthday celebration video including customer statements can also be viewed on Esko's YouTube channel .

Ducommun, Switzerland: Jean Ducommun, owner of Ducommun in Switzerland, has used ArtPro since the very beginning. "It's true,” he says. “We've been a happy user since 1992. The software evolved alongside our company. It's so versatile that you cannot only work in separations rather than composite files, but also make changes on the go without having to go back to rip-and-trap. We cannot recommend it highly enough. It's a

AFTA AGA ALA • April May 2013

74 Esko and Epson announce OEM agreement Epson to offer Esko’s highly functional Digital Front-End with its SurePress L-4033 series, bringing improved productivity and quality to digital label printing Esko announces that it has entered into an OEM relationship with Epson) to provide a customized Digital FrontEnd (DFE) for use with the Epson SurePress L-4033A and L-4033AW inkjet digital label presses.

must-have for any company involved in packaging."

Van Eerd, The Netherlands: "In the 15 years that we've been using ArtPro,” states Jeroen Sneijders of Van Eerd, “ArtPro has grown with us and the tool has allowed us to expand even further.

ArtPro capabilities and our Esko partners have encouraged us to keep growing by continuously assessing and improving our processes. We develop packaging for the pharmaceutical industry, so quality and traceability are imperative, and the Certified module has been crucial. The Certified module enables us to perfectly streamline all steps in the artwork process so we can easily and rapidly anticipate and trace back any issues. ArtPro is designed specifically for packaging and labels, which makes it the perfect userfriendly tool for us, enhancing our productivity to the fullest."

Schawk, Los Angeles, USA: Dino Fiocchi, Applications Specialist at Schawk in the US, has been an ArtPro fan from the very beginning. He explains: "The technical properties of the program are outstanding. ArtPro enables you to deal with large images, but still allows you to work quickly. It doesn't slow down with larger images and more complex files. The Stepper, trapping and the editing tools I also consider to be invaluable. The ruler/ editing tool far superior to any other editors."

RAKO Graphic Services, Germany: "The Esko solutions used by us helped to increase the print quality and productivity in packaging printing

significantly,” says Mirco Wilke of RAKO Graphic Services. “ArtPro plays a decisive role in preparing and monitoring high end print data in a reliable workflow."

A bright looking future "Esko will continue to improve the existing packaging tools in ArtPro such as trapping, S&R and preflighting and at the same time respond to new trends in the packaging industry," concludes Bernard Zwaenepoel, Senior VP Software Business at Esko. "In addition, the integration with other Esko solutions will be taking another step forward: structural design files from Studio and ArtiosCAD will be handled better and communication with Automation Engine and WebCenter will be further aligned. Finally, by modernizing the kernel, that will be shared with other Esko applications, ArtPro will become PDF native, platform independent and more productive than ever!"

“As the label and packaging market increasingly transitions from analog to digital solutions,” says Jef Bogaerts, Commercial Partnerships at Esko, “manufacturers of digital printing equipment are looking for digital frontend alternatives that can effectively address workflow and job processing issues specific to their industry. Our DFE does just that by streamlining prepress and workflow for greater efficiency. And with Esko’s Color Engine 12 integrated into the DFE, it offers Epson the ability to process files of up to seven colors to take full advantage of the capabilities of the L-4033 series presses. We are pleased to be partnering with Epson, one of the printing industry’s best-known brands.”

The 6-color Epson SurePress L-4033A and 7-color L-4033AW (with white ink) inkjet digital label presses are designed for efficient high-quality, short-run label printing. Delivering exceptional print quality and accurate color reproduction on a wide variety of standard label substrates, the L-4033 series presses enable label converters and commercial printers to expand their service offering and improve profitability. Now, with the addition of

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75 the Esko DFE, Epson customers will be able to take advantage of Esko’s expertise in the label and packaging market to deliver differentiated digital label manufacturing that incorporates Esko capabilities that have become the standard in the label and packaging industry.

“As we continue to grow our presence in the label industry, we turned to the industry leader for additional capability,” comments Mr. Kitahara Tsuyoshi, General Manager, Epson.

“Combined with Epson’s reputation for high-quality, affordable printing solutions, this DFE powered by Esko will bring even more value and automation to customers serving the digital label printing market. As the market continues to evolve, so do Epson products and the Esko partnership is another example of our dedication to bringing our customers best-in-class solutions that help their businesses grow and grow with their businesses.”

The new DFE, powered by Esko, will be standard on Epson SurePress L-4033 series digital label presses sold in Europe and Australia, and will be an option for presses sold in other parts of the world.

Leading Indonesian label converter installs Xeikon digital press Xeikon, an innovator in digital color printing, announced today that a leading label converter based in West Java, Indonesia has installed a Xeikon 3000 Series digital color press to capitalize on the high value-added short run labels and packaging market.

The Xeikon digital label press was chosen to expand their digital printing capacity after carefully evaluating competitive ink jet and liquid toner equipment.

Xeikon’s flexibility With the abovementioned development, this western Indonesian company has further expanded its successful strategy of producing high quality labels in short run lengths and just-in-time production. They serve a wide range of customers in verticals such as food and beverage, industrial goods and pharmaceuticals.

The company liked the operational cost model flexibility presented by Xeikon, which offered them the possibility to choose between a variable operational cost model based on real consumption ‘á la Carte’ or a fixed operational model advisable for customers with extremely stable production.

The dry toner imaging process of Xeikon in combination with its LED illumination technology delivers top notch printing quality and reliable colour consistency. The full rotary printing process, with variable repeat length, ensures that speed is not affected by the label size and/ or the number of colors used. The Xeikon 3000 Series presses use the Xeikon QA-I toner, which meets all the applicable FDA guidelines for indirect food contact as well as direct food contact for dry food substances containing no surface oil or fat.

Xeikon 3000 series The Xeikon 3000 Series press installed at this site is Xeikon’s best-selling high-volume label press, built for use with the most common web widths

of 330 mm (13”), but also capable of handling a web width as narrow as 200 mm (7.9"). It runs at speeds up to 19,2 m/min (63 ft/min). This printing press won the prestigious New Innovation Award at the Label Industry Global Awards during Labelexpo Americas in 2008 and was also the first digital label press to receive an InterTech™ Technology Award in 2009.

Xeikon in Asia “Since we introduced this press model in 2008, which later expanded to the Xeikon 3000 Series of presses in 2010, Xeikon has been very successful in the label market with its solutions,” says Josep Roca, Asia Pacific Sales Area Manager at Xeikon. “Label applications are ideal for taking advantage of the flexibility of our fully rotary direct printing technology. We are delighted to see that companies in Asia Pacific are recognizing our leadership in the market as well. Xeikon is committed to the region and has established several service hubs in Asia with Xeikon Service Engineers working out of Singapore and Chennai with new members joining our regional Service team before the end of the year.”

The Comexi FLEXO F2 has won the “Red Dot Design” award for its aesthetic and durable design

Comexi Group, a specialist in solutions for the flexible package convertible industry, has been awarded with the “Red Dot Design” for the design of its Comexi FLEXO F2 flexographic printer.

The Red Dot Design confers recognition to the best products of the year based on communication and product design criteria. The Comexi FLEXO F2 has won among more than 1.800 manufacturers from 54 countries, thanks to its elaborated aesthetic design and its durability.

The Comexi FLEXO F2 innovative design is the fruit of the machine’s ergonomics perfection. Thanks to the changes applied to the printer’s structure, the accessibility has been improved to provide easier ways to the machine’s operating and maintenance.

Besides, the working time has been reduced so the machine is even more productive.

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76 The new rotogravure printer will be installed at Sirpi’s headquarters in Tribiano, at a production center that stands out for its modernity and efficacy. Sirpi has evaluated carefully the market’s rotogravure printers and they finally chose the Comexi RG EXCEL due to its production capacity, but also because of Comexi Group’s knowledge in the sector.

The Comexi FLEXO F2 incorporates 10 new patents that affect on grids, doctor blade, drying screen, Excitink, reels, layout and Cingular modules.

Since all these aspects are ergonomic and efficacy-related, the company has named the printer F2 FlexoEfficiency.

The “Red Dot Designed” is given since 1955. The current edition of the award has had the bigger jury of its history in order to evaluate in depth all the candidate products. The award ceremony will be held July the 1st in Essen, Germany.

Approximately 1.200 guests are expected to attend the event, so it will be a good opportunity to make new contacts and to know first-hand innovative developments in the design business.

X-Rite launches SpectraLight QC and new training institute

Comexi Group, a specialist in solutions for the flexible package convertible industry, sold to Sierra Packaging & Converting the Flexographic Press Comexi FPlus.

The American’s company, manufacturer of quality flexible packaging for retail and commodities markets, has announced their progression in the industry by securing a new Comexi FPlus. This unit will be installed in the new state- of – the - art located in Reno, NV. This sophisticated, sleeved, gearless press can achieve optimum printing speeds of 1600 FPM and provides for quick and easy changeovers. The combination of the new facility and the increased capabilities of this press line will assure that Sierra will achieve its goals of providing superior products and exceptional Customer Service.

SIRPI acquires a Comexi RG EXCEL

Comexi Group, a specialist in solutions for the flexible package convertible industry, begins this month the Comexi RG EXCEL installation at the Italian company Sirpi, which is dedicated to wallpapers’ printing.

Sirpi is one of the oldest and most widely recognized wallpapers’ printing companies in Italy. The Jannelli family owns Sirp and they are manufacturing only in Italy as a cultural and strategic decision. By means of the Jannelli & Volpi brand, Sirpi distributes wallpapers, wall cladding, upholstery and decorations all over the world.

MacDermid Printing Solutions Introduces New Plate Designed for Use with UV Inks

MacDermid Printing Solutions announced today the commercial introduction of a new digital flexo printing plate designed specifically for use with UV inks, UVR. UVR is swell-resistant in aggressive UV inks and also boasts low dot gain and excellent resolution capabilities.

UVR, a 55 durometer plate, has exceptional drape, allowing the plate to wrap around a narrow web cylinder with smaller repeats with relative ease, reducing the risk of plate lift. UVR is ideally suited for the narrow web market, where UV inks are used heavily. UVR has comparable performance in water-based inks as well, another ink type used in the narrow web market. Compatible with MacDermid’s LUX ® Platemaking Process, UVR has demonstrated excellent print capabilities when combined with the flat-top dots of LUX® . Additionally, UVR can be dual

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78 performance, reliability, responsibility and technological progress. Gallus Screeny Genuine Plates are ideal for combination printing. For every need, there is an appropriate screen solution, as this is the only way to ensure an optimum print result.

processed, either in conventional solvents or in MacDermid’s LAVA Thermal Platemaking System.

UVR is commercially available in thicknesses of 0.045 in. (1.14mm) and 0.067 in (1.70mm), and in format sizes up to 52 x 80 inches (1,321 x 2,032 mm). For additional information, customers can contact MacDermid Printing Solutions at 800-348-7201 or printing.macdermid.com.

New seal of quality – Gallus Screeny Genuine Plates

Redesigning the packaging of all Gallus Screeny products also involved revising the label function and introducing the new “Genuine Plates” seal of quality. This seal of quality guarantees that users really will find what they ordered inside the packaging – an original screen from Gallus.

“Genuine Plates” is a guarantee of the properties and company values that users expect of an original product and the manufacturer of such a product – top quality, peace of mind,

Precise microstructure: uniform woven fabric, perfect structural equalisation and suitable fixing of photopolymer for optimum ink flow and consistent results.

Using Gallus Screeny Genuine Plates also results in smooth, stable and reliable workflows and printing processes – for true peace of mind.

This makes it easier for print shops to plan production, adhere to deadlines and deliver labels on time. Gallus Screeny Genuine Plates also enable users to get the most out of their press, with fast setup, minimal setup waste and maximum screen printing speeds. A holistic, integrated approach combining flexographic, offset and screen printing is adopted right from the design stage.

As a system supplier, Gallus also takes its promise of reliability very seriously.

Its portfolio ranges from well thoughtout, perfectly coordinated technical solutions to comprehensive support from a team of specialists. Gallus is always there for users, offering advice over the phone, on-site service support and training, and handling customer problems, particularly those relating to screen printing in tandem with other print methods.

As a result of its ongoing development work, Gallus now has the most comprehensive product portfolio on the market and can thus offer a wide range of solutions for virtually any screen printing application. Examples include the Gallus Screeny S-Line with re-usable screens and the Gallus Digital Screeny, which supports an optimised overall workflow.

Thanks to this intensive and continuous research and development work by Gallus, Gallus Screeny Genuine Plates can be relied on to always provide an appropriate and effective application – and that will also remain so in the future. The new Gallus seal of quality “Genuine Plates” is thus a simple distinguishing feature that means customers can always be sure they really are using an original Gallus screen printing fabric – with all the above-mentioned benefits.

Newest Rewinder Developments from Martin Automatic

Among its roll change automation equipment for the label, flexible packaging and folding carton markets, Martin Automatic Inc offers several lines of automatic transfer rewinders for continuous production.

Martin introduced the newest model in the LRD line of rewinders for narrow- and mid-width presses. The LRD is used in a variety of applications, including paper, film, label stock, light paperboard and tube laminates: • The latest LRD rewinder now accommodates 800 mm (31.5 in) diameter rolls in the standard model, with larger diameter models available.

• Operator control is via a touchscreen display. In addition to high visibility, expanded diagnostics and even easier operation, the LRD includes recipe functions so operators can quickly and easily store and recall the winding parameters of repeat jobs.

• The optional in-line slitter package has been enhanced to offer lateral adjustment of the slitter and anvil roller assembly for quicker set-up, fine-tuning and change-over between jobs.

• The LRD offloads finished rolls automatically via one of several standard doffing ramp designs for full-width, multiple-ribbon or loosely-wound rolls. If product rolls are small or require special handling, an optional articulating arm automatically delivers finished rolls through the front of the unit for easy removal.

“As the industry leader in roll-change and web-handling automation, we’re known for designing simplicity, reliability and the most appropriate advanced technology into our equipment,” says Gavin Rittmeyer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “The newest LRD rewinder model exemplifies how Martin Automatic continues to develop and enhance products that give converters and printers the greatest versatility and value for their investment.”

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AFTA AGA ALA â&#x20AC;˘ April May 2013

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Label producers around the world rely on the productivity, quality and reliability of HP Indigo presses day after day. No wonder 7 out of 10 digital presses bought for label production are HP Indigo.

Choosing digital has never been simpler.

Find out more at hp.com/go/labelsandpackaging or contact: Edcent Chan at +65 9862 6092 or edcent.chan@hp.com

Š 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.