Eighty-eight percent of flexographic printing and converting plants rank maximizing efficiencies as No. 1 on the agenda.
Today, flexible packing is primarily produced on a central impression (CI) press, whereas labels are run on an inline press. In moving out to maximize efficiencies, printers/converters should customize and configure the flexographic press to the changing environment and their specific needs. Some surprising solutions, stepping beyond and including the CI press, just might capture their attention.
Photo courtesy of Giave
Because of this changing nature of flexible packaging, it will serve a printer well to look at all flexographic press possibilities and determine which fits the business model for each plant. Requirements can be tailored to each niche market. Specific developments include:
- Servo drive systems now provide other flexographic press platforms—e.g., stack presses—with the same close register
- New, sustainable, safer coatings are coming to market daily. Some products require both frontside and backside coatings, making stack presses or downstream units attractive
- The trend for multiple SKUs and shorter runs renders the cost to compete increasingly challenging. This is where a mid web press shows promise
- Some packaging requires larger print repeats, which is more of a challenge for a CI press, so a stack press may be a better option
When it comes to selecting a new press, two strategies—enhancing productivity and trimming waste—reign supreme.
Options & Opportunities
Coating and lamination technologies for various kinds of substrates, including film, film on foil, film on paper and foil on paper, can be done inline—saving time and setup waste.
For paper or paperboard, new coatings are sometimes applied by Mayer rod coating; however, some new approaches are applying a double laydown with the first coating as a sealant, so the second coating will then stay near the substrate surface for better barrier features. To save in cost, this is best done inline with the proper drying to maintain speeds.
Many applications today require front-to-back printing in register. This can be done with an “all servo” direct drive stack press with very accurate registration. Tubing materials are a particularly good example.
For example, the Giave MIZARFLEX stack press has solved tension problems with flexible and shrinkable materials by placing high precision tension controls, synchronized with the print cylinders with PROFINET IRT (Isochronous Real Time) -based communication, at strategic points in the machine.
These sophisticated tension controls provide a constant and perfect transport of the flexible materials of low thickness without variation, often seen with older flexographic presses. This press enables you to print front and back the full web width without turnbars for maximum press utilization at higher speeds.
Photo courtesy of KYMC America
Similarly, Giave’s Gialux UV LED “all servo” flexographic stack press offers endless flexibility to maximizing efficiencies—all in one pass—through the press. With the high-quantity shrink sleeve market, a wider press in the range of 34-in. to 40-in. makes sense for combining SKUs for greater throughput. UV LED high-quality flexographic printing can be digitally embellished inline—applying cold foil, metallics, optics, embossing and much more—for greater in-store shelf appeal.
Additionally, front-to-back downstream coatings can be applied gravure, flexography or UV inline and in register with extended drying time available for today’s sustainable coatings.
To further elaborate on a stack press’ flexibility to maximize efficiencies and lower costs, look to this list of key benefits:
- UV LED inks offer higher print quality with greater consistency
- With UV LED inks, expanded gamut (EG) printing is easier, as inks are stable on press
- Compact footprint with short web path reduces material waste
- Print flexible packaging and shrink sleeves on the same press
- Print front and back of the web without turnbar
- Apply extended-life coatings to eliminate some laminations
- Reduce the impact of solvent emissions and retained solvent
- Less energy and lower costs
Folding carton and other paperboard segments can be flexographically printed using water-based inks for commodity products and UV LED inks for higher-quality printing—with a die cutter or sheeter inline, saving time and materials.
The Moduflex is a gearless press that provides fast register setup and tighter register tolerances. It’s able to combine with inline gravure, flexography, diecutting or sheeters and rotary screen—making it a multi-combination modular press. The Moduflex gearless press is suited for both mid and wide web application. It’s designed for operator comfort and features a user-friendly touchscreen interface, digitalized registration setting controls, easy access to all stations, auto register, job recall and auto-wash systems. It can increase production with makeready while the press is running.
With Giave’s MIZARFLEX all servo drive, printers can safely shut down decks not being used in production and back them out of position to change the plate and anilox sleeves safely, and makeready decks/stations not being used in the current job.