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CONSUMABLES IN FOCUS: CONSUMABLE PRODUCTS FOR PRINTING AND PACKAGING INNOVATIONS
Consumable products for printing and packaging innovations
Over the years printing and packaging consumables have undergone significant changes due to technological innovations, market trends, updates and product developments in paper stocks, other printing substrates, inks, coatings and more. In this article we feature some of the consumables currently on offer from the suppliers that provide them.
BALL & DOGGETT
Ball & Doggett general manager - graphics, Sam Varughese believes that few names stand as tall as Megami Inks in the field of LED-UV ink manufacturing.
“Megami Inks, which originated in Japan in 1928, boast a longstanding tradition of providing state-of-the-art solutions that have garnered global recognition for their relentless pursuit of technological frontiers in UV, LED, Metallic, and fluorescent ink manufacturing. Within Australia, the ongoing partnership between Ball & Doggett and Megami Inks is establishing a benchmark for innovation, quality, and success,” he explained.
“At the core of Megami Inks’ identity lies an unwavering commitment to quality. This commitment is particularly critical for high-volume printing businesses where ink quality directly impacts operational costs. Megami inks LED-UV, renowned for their efficiency and durability, lead to fewer ink changes, reduced waste, and extended machine life, providing substantial cost savings that accumulate over time.
“The UV Megacure Series is an exceptional highlight within Megami’s collection and presents an array of Process and Pantone hues, along with metallic and fluorescent tones. Additionally, it includes both matte and gloss varnishes, available in HUV, LED, and UV series. Megami’s Metallics range is a triumph of Japanese technology, boasting a stabilised metallic surface that prevents oxidation, resulting in superior shine,” Varughese said.
“The UV Megacure inks shine with remarkable half-tone dot vividness and transparency, producing printed materials of exceptional clarity. With a low tack property, it adapts well to diverse paper types, while its high scratch resistance and post-processing durability elevate its performance. The ink’s good adhesive properties enable printing on select nonabsorbent plastics and metalised paper.”
Varughese pointed out that the remarkable durability and versatility of Megami’s Megacure range of gold and silver metallic inks and coatings excel in applications requiring enduring vibrancy, such as packaging, labels, and industrial prints.
“A key advantage of LED-UV inks lies in their rapid curing under light exposure, minimising production time while boosting colour intensity and resistance properties,” he stated.
“The collaboration between Megami Inks and Ball & Doggett as the exclusive distributor of Megami’s comprehensive LED-UV ink collection stands as a testament to their joint dedication to excellence and innovation. Megami Inks’ focus on quality, affordability, and sustainability positions them as an ideal choice for businesses seeking valuedriven solutions. With Megami’s cuttingedge technology and Ball & Doggett’s commitment to support, quality, and service, the union emerges as a beacon of premium products that empowers the Australian printing community to attain unparalleled levels of quality and efficiency,” Varughese added.
CURRIE GROUP
Currie Group offers a ‘One Stop Consumable Shop’ solution to its customers – a comprehensive and compatible selection of consumables from manufacturers where quality is never compromised, and long-term partnerships from all corners of the globe are maintained.
The company has increased the number of its distributorships to further broaden its range of products and supply its customers with the assurance of compatibility, environmental credentials, and consistency.
“We have partnered with several international ink suppliers and can offer a full range of conventional, UV and LED inks as well as supportive consumable products, including blankets, coatings, and fountain solutions. We choose quality inks over cheaper priced inks, which give us peace of mind about the product, and reduces the requirement for technical support,” Currie Group national sales manager – ink, Colin Edwards explained.
“We have found that we get improved printed results when we supply our customers with the LED inks, Sava EPDM blankets and Nikken UV fountain solutions that have been developed for compatibility, and they work extremely well together.”
T&K Toka
Currie Group sells a range of inks from T&K Toka, a Japanese-based company that has been in production for over 70 years. The words ʻTechnology & Kindness’ represent the company’s sincere commitment to ʻoffering high quality, easy-to-use products’.
“T&K Toka manufactures high quality UV and LED ink products which are consistent between batch to batch and run very well lithographically. The company’s conventional ink range is highlighted with the Toka Best One Premium Process ink. It was introduced over 40 years ago and is still considered to be one of the best products on the market. Customers see the value in buying it because of its high quality and pigment strength so they use less, and experience greatly reduced technical issues,” Edwards explained.
A recent development between Currie Group and T&K Toka is the UV161 UT, a low migration UV ink series for process and Pantone inks.
“Not only does the UV161 UT excel in adhesive properties but also in drying properties and solvent resistance and has become popular with customers in the packaging sector where indirect food contact status is required. Not selecting the correct ink leads to the potential for inks to taint the product being packaged, such as in food and pharmaceuticals,” he pointed out.
T&K Toka holds the number one share of the Japanese market for UV ink, having developed UV ink in 1977 and low-energy curing UV ink in 2008.
Katsura Rollers
Currie Group offers a re-covering and new roller service with high quality Japanese manufactured rollers and a variety of graphic products in the LED printing space.
“We have been selling Katsura rollers since 2018. We are concentrating on rollers for LED and UV and they are a very high- quality roller, and although higher priced in the market, they generally last longer than competitor rollers,” Edwards said, explaining that Currie Group is expanding the number of rollers it is selling into the Australian market, which demonstrates how well-regarded the rollers are.
Sava Printing Blankets
“We have a strong relationship with Sava Blankets Slovenia, and carry a full range of conventional and UV printing blankets and coating blankets. Blankets are cut and converted in Australia from rolls manufactured in Slovenia, and local conversion gives us flexibility and the ability to respond to the market very quickly,” Edwards said.
“Sava Blankets offer dimensional stability, good resilience and impact resistance combined with a long working life and excellent print quality.
“We can offer an extensive range of Sava Blankets suitable for our customer’s requirements, no matter the press type or function. We are also able to offer a complete cutting and barring facility which enables us to manufacture blankets to a client’s specific needs.
“The Sava Advantage Blanket range is manufactured with the latest in technology using a Radial Core. The new compressible layer coupled with this radial core carcass improves durability, offers excellent shock absorption and rapid recovery which reduces stretching and improves smash resistance,” he explained, adding that this blanket range is highly recommended for the packaging industry where up to a proven 30 per cent lifespan increase can be expected.
“Currie Group has a PMS special mix blending service in both Melbourne (servicing the Eastern States) and Perth where we can match and manufacture PMS colours in a variety of ink variations including conventional, UV, LED, H-UV, foil inks and fluorescent inks,” Edwards added.
On top of the products listed above, Currie Group offers a full range of inks and consumables for the printing industry including coatings, stitching wire, binding glues, wash cloths, calibrated packings, finito packings, coating blankets, Agfa plates, a full range of press ready chemicals, and many more products used in the press room.
FUJIFILM AUSTRALIA
Delivering worldwide innovation is a daily endeavour for the FUJIFILM group. Within Australia, the company continues to support locally manufactured goods in print. FUJIFILM Australia’s Campbellfield site in Melbourne features a dedicated, in-house team with years of expertise in creating all things for the pressroom.
The plant can research, design, and manufacture a wide range of consumables from scratch, including fountain solutions, washes, general chemicals, and coatings. With these capabilities, products can be individually tailored to address all sorts of business performance requirements from resource efficiency to optimised productivity.
“We are proud to be able to have these capabilities in Australia to support local businesses,” FUJIFILM Graphic Systems manufacturing and operations manager Lily Cendo said.
FUJIFILM Australia is the proud developer of Hydrocoat and Eurocoat Coatings, presenting a full spectrum of finishes for paper, board, film, and foil application. Other specialty varnishes created at this site are also available for narrow web capabilities. The company is also an authorised Trelleborg distributor with state-of-the-art facilities for cutting and barring Trelleborg Vulcan Blankets.
Post press is another crucial step in print from stitching wire to adhesives, the team can source, and supply niche needs with the support of the company’s global longstanding relationships.
FUJIFILM Australia is in a unique position with accessibility to the latest products from its Europe, Japan, and USA counterparts particularly in areas of plate and ink technology.
The Superia ZX Processless plate represents the simplest way to make plates with the complete elimination of the processor and resources required in conventional plate production. These processless plates also feature higher durability and robust scratch-resistance, supporting company efforts of moving towards achieving company and global sustainability goals.
FUJIFILM’s Uvijet Inks are high-performing UV inks with proprietary Micro-V dispersion technology enabling strong concentrations of colour pigment to be effectively dispersed and stabilised. Aside from its brilliant high colour capabilities it is also resistant to agglomeration and gravitational settling.
Furthermore, these UK developed UV inks have been awarded Greenguard Gold certification for low chemical emissions, supporting healthier indoor environments for manufacturers to create and customers to choose. Greenguard Gold is a certification presented by UL Solutions to FUJIFILM’s Uvijet Inks.
GRAPH-PAK
Graph-Pak provides an array of consumable items to cater to various needs. These include paper and plastic banding tapes, as well as insertion tapes for tabbing purposes. The company offers both hot and cold glues. In addition to these, its range encompasses rubber rollers for laminators, UV coaters, and other finishing equipment. The company also supplies products like rubber rejuvenators and cleaners that enhance the durability of rubber components, leading to cleaner production processes and reduced downtimes caused by scuffing, wear, and tear.
Graph-Pak’s product line-up extends to double-sided tapes available in economical 350-metre large reels. Additionally, it offers silicone tapes and tear tapes, essential components particularly valuable for E-commerce operations.
Alongside these products, the company maintains a stock of spare parts and consumables essential for various finishing machinery, encompassing items such as belts, knives, perforator wheels, brushes, springs, bolts, valves, handles, gears, cogs, and critical components for renowned brands featured in its portfolio.
Operating as a separate business entity, Graph-Pak Laminating Films specialises in providing thermal Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) laminating films, commonly referred to as CELLO, available in a range of finishes including gloss, matt, soft touch, anti-scuff and biodegradable. These films are offered in various roll widths and lengths. Additionally, the company’s offerings extend to the packaging sector with a comprehensive selection of Thermal PET films available in gloss, matte, and metallic silver and gold finishes.
HEIDELBERG
Saphira consumables from Heidelberg offers a complete range of tested and proven consumables for prepress, press and postpress operations. In addition to being perfect for the equipment they are used with; they are designed to produce excellent print results at maximum speeds. With the company's eShop, it offers easy access to all the supplies a print shop may need.
Consumables for prepress
Saphira products offer reliable results and cost-effective production:
• Plates and related chemistry: Heidelberg offers both metal and polyester Saphira plates that will work with thermal or visible light imaging heads.
• Films and related chemistry: With Saphira, Heidelberg offers a family of rapid access films and chemistry that has been certified for a wide range of imagesetters – including all Heidelberg machines.
• Proofing: The Saphira portfolio counts a comprehensive range of consumables for contract proofing.
• Flexo: With Heidelberg’s Saphira offerings, a wide choice of digital and analog engraving consumables are on offer, as well as other flexo supplies.
Consumables for offset presses
• Heidelberg supplies inks for both conventional and UV applications as well as special colours. These range from CMYK process sets to customised colour matches.
• In addition to their protective function, the wide range of Saphira coatings gives products additional refinement and a more aesthetic appeal for optimal and consistent varnish transfer.
• Saphira blankets ensure precise pressure transmission and troublefree ink transfer.
Heidelberg offers an extensive range of top-quality blankets for all requirements.
• Because only factory-approved rubber compounds are used to produce Saphira rollers, Saphira ink and dampening rollers deliver high quality printed results over a long lifespan.
• Saphira pressroom chemicals help achieve high quality printing results. They include washes, fountain solutions, alcohol substitutes, and other press chemicals.
• A range of ink duct foils, wash-up cloths and spray powders is also on offer.
Consumables for postpress
• Cutting supplies: Heidelberg supplies cutting knives that are precision-made in Germany and stay sharper for longer.
• Folding supplies: The company offers all kinds of folding supplies, including banderols, dispersion glues, and its Saphira Special Cleaner is developed to clean folding rollers thoroughly and revitalize them in one go.
• Binding supplies: For binding purposes, Heidelberg’s Saphira portfolio includes not only binding glues, but also stitching wires and sealing threads.
• Folding carton gluing supplies: For folding carton gluers, Heidelberg offers dispersion glues especially developed to enable equipment to run at speeds of up to 650 m/min.
KODAK
“Are you using traditional processed plates simply because that’s the way you’ve always done it? When you really stop to look at your business, though, a switch to process free plates will be more compelling,” Kodak print solutions sales director Robert Mollee stated.
According to Mollee, there are three signs that can demonstrate it’s time to switch to process free plates:
1. Your business needs to grow cost effectively
“By removing the plate processor, your job completion rates will improve because employees can focus on work that does not involve platemaking. The improvement in staff utilisation will positively impact profitability, print consistency, and quality output as a result of using process free plates,” Mollee explained, pointing out that Sonora plates do not require the use of chemicals or water, and are less likely to cause print defects.
“This improves your quality control, delivering a superior product to your customers, which will help you to keep your existing clients happy and to attract new business. The improvements in customer satisfaction favourably impact customer retention, leading to new business opportunities with existing clients.
“It’s quick and easy to make the switch from traditional plates, too. You don’t have to change anything on your presses or alter any parameters. Your press operators simply make a minor adjustment to their plate handling habits,” he added.
2. The hidden cost of traditional plates is going up
“Traditional wet plates bring a lot of hidden costs even during periods of economic stability. Plates can pick up defects during plate processing, leading to the expense of plate remakes and money lost to delays, press downtime, and wasted paper.
“During times of economic disruption, printers can expect additional hidden costs, especially when inflation becomes significant. Prices are rising everywhere, and the production of traditional processed plates is no exception,” Mollee said.
3. You need to free up people to work in other areas
“These days, companies of all kinds are under pressure to find efficiencies and cut costs. One powerful solution is to redeploy people to tasks that bring greater value to the business. Process free plates offer huge assistance in this area,” he stated, explaining that the traditional plate process involves a lot of unappealing and arduous tasks that absorb valuable staff time.
“These may range from regular emptying to thoroughly cleaning the processors. This alone may cost you tens of thousands of dollars more than you would spend if process free plates were part of your prepress operations. Process free plates make these unpopular and time-consuming tasks a thing of the past.”
Mollee pointed out that process free plates also work well with the latest automated CTP innovations from Kodak, including the Kodak Trendsetter and Magnus Q800 plate setters.
“Here, the platemaking process can be left completely unattended, freeing up press shift supervisors and other valuable employees to work on other tasks, and potentially bring even greater value to the business.
“The more plates that can be automatically loaded, imaged, and unloaded, the more jobs you can handle in a day. It also frees up your people to apply their talents to those higher-value tasks. So, you boost your revenue potential — even as you reduce costs,” he added.
SEAGA
Seaga boasts an extensive product range that spans diverse industries, including die making, Pantone, printing, and packaging. The company has gained recognition for its high-calibre die making and die cutting solutions, catering to the Australian and New Zealand markets.
Recent strategic expansions have broadened the company’s consumables portfolio through the acquisition of Emmoco, a specialist in pallet wrap film, pallet wrapping machinery and packaging equipment.
Although pallet stretch wrap is accessible from many different suppliers, it is not all made equal. Emmoco’s wrap is produced using only American resin sourced from Dow Chemicals (a US materials science company) and produces a higher yield point, which means the wrap can be stretched further without breaking. It is also manufactured using only European and American-made manufacturing equipment, which results in increased consistency.
More efficient wrap usage will result in less wrap being used and significant cost savings, especially if businesses are using large volumes. Importantly, less wrap usage will also lead to reduced waste generation, making the wrapping process more environmentally friendly.
Efficient warehouse and production operations rely heavily on quality and reliable machinery. Emmoco supplies best-in-class packaging equipment such as pallet wrappers, carton sealers/ erectors and strapping machines. These machines play an important role in streamlining a warehouse’s packaging process by increasing efficiency and reducing manual labour. Significant synergies can be created with the right combination and inline setup of equipment to ensure seamless workflows.
An example of an efficient, inline setup recently completed by Emmoco is at the brand-new Daniel’s Donuts production facility. Since its first flagship store opened in Springvale in 2016, Daniel’s Donuts now has over 40 stores across Victoria. To meet their ever-growing production and packaging demands, Emmoco completed a complete supply and installation of a range of its packaging equipment, including customised pallet wrappers, carton sealers and a carton erector.
The process begins with a flat-pack cardboard box that passes through the carton erector; as it emerges, the box is now upright and sealed at the bottom. Subsequently, the worker fills the box with the goods and guides it through a carton sealer, which seals the top of the carton. The sealed boxes are then placed onto a pallet and subsequently loaded onto a pallet wrapper to securely wrap the goods before being dispatched to stores and customers.
