Efficient, easy to use and flexible—Today’s in-demand printing and converting equipment, by nature, must focus on productivity, quality and operator friendliness.
Paper Converting Machine Co (PCMC) engineers stand by their commitment to focusing on the printer in designing a complete range of flexographic presses, digital solutions and laser anilox cleaners for the flexible packaging, prime label and carton converting industries.
All photos courtesy of PCMC
Corporate executives admit, “It’s smart to reduce waste, energy use and costs.” Their message to packaging printing practitioners comes in the form of a pledge. “We’re constantly on the lookout for ways to help you meet these goals and we design our machines accordingly. From fast and highly effective laser anilox cleaners that use no water, heat or chemicals, to presses that reduce changeover and setup times, to being a leader in bringing new environmentally friendly drying technology to market, we adapt equipment to benefit you.” Why? “We know you focus on maximizing plant efficiency—so do we.”
Similarly, “We know you want automation and high productivity—We deliver it!” It’s smart to fill your facility with equipment that helps ease the strain of labor shortages, while increasing productivity.
- That’s why laser anilox cleaners are easy to operate using a simple touchscreen and provide the fastest cycle times in the industry
- It’s why we developed bounce-mitigating SteadyPrint technology, which allows operators to print at higher speeds with quicker setups and less operator adjustment and intervention
- And it’s why we automated process control, register setting, impression setting and splice/transfer options on central impression (CI) presses and made sure there’s no need to clean anything by hand
Quality Conscious
It’s smart to invest in equipment that delivers high print quality while adapting to today’s environment of challenging graphics, shortening run times and the need for faster changeovers. PCMC designs equipment to meet these challenges head on. From quick-changeover presses that expertly handle a variety of substrates and inks including solvent-based, water-based, UV and EB; to digital conversion systems which can turn your existing press into a state-of-the-art hybrid digital press, with one of the highest native resolutions in the industry; to SteadyPrint technology which mitigates bounce and significantly widens the operating range of the press; recent advances provide the flexibility printers need to navigate the ever-changing, ever-challenging workload. “We know you want quality and flexibility—We hear you!”
Safe & Sound
It’s smart to offer the safest, most operator-friendly work environment possible, so PCMC offers presses with high-safety features including:
- OSHA standards of zero-speed interlocked guarding and no open flames
- VOC containment
- Hands-free operation
- Print job storage and recall
- Fully automatic controls and our Flextreme air drying system that offers quiet (less than 85 decibel) operation and no confined space requirements
We keep adapting equipment, so the printer/converter customer workforce stays safe and sound. Why? We know you’re committed to staff safety and retention—So are we!
Need It Now!
We know when printers make an investment, they don’t want to wait—We get it! PCMC has strong supplier relationships, a global service team and around-the-clock parts support to keep business moving.
We work with every customer to ensure the fastest possible delivery on both stock and new order equipment, and we offer complete installation and startup support, calibration and training once equipment arrives. We also help extend the life of your existing equipment with modifications and upgrades that allow any plant to experience the highest possible performance, productivity and safety.
Building strong relationships with our customers, so necessary to truly understand their needs, makes us a better equipment manufacturer. By understanding the challenges our customers face on a day-to-day basis, we can adapt equipment to help meet those challenges. It’s just smart business!
Here’s a look at examples of efficient, easy-to-use and flexible product lines.
Fusion Series
PCMC’s Fusion Series CI presses meet the needs of today’s competitive printing industry. Designed with the customer in mind, these presses are loaded with energy- and time-saving features, and they meet the demands of short runs that require more efficient changeovers and setups, while offering high repeatability and maximum uptime. Prominent features include:
- Automatic CI drum cleaning
- Automatic, hands-free washup system
- Low-maintenance ink pump design
- Efficient Flextreme air drying system
- Automatic process control
- SteadyPrint anti-bounce technology that enhances the ability to produce high-quality output through a wide speed range
- 100 percent web defect inspection
- TruePrint Plus technology for hands-free, automatic camera-based impression setting and register setting
- Integrated viscosity and pH control options
- Solvent-saver option
- Ink cooling options
ELS MAX Series
PCMC’s ELS-MAX inline presses take technologies from both inline and wide web CI presses and combine them to produce a fast changeover inline press that holds extremely tight register.
This gamechanger offers the ability to quickly change press parameters, so it runs efficiently on many types of substrates from thin films to board stock. Attractions list out as follows:
- TruePrint Plus technology for hands-free, automatic, camera-based impression setting and register setting
- Register tolerance matches what CI presses can hold
- One button starts the makeready process
- Store and share press settings per job
- Tunnel drying for heavy ink, coatings and adhesives
- Single-roll or continuous-run winders
- Inline lamination option
- Rail system option
- UV curing option—available at any print unit or under the drying tunnel
- Backside printing option—available on any print unit
ION Digital Conversion System
PCMC’s ION digital conversion system turns an analog press into a digital press—ideal for labels, folding cartons, wide web packaging and more.
It’s configured to provide:
- 1,600 x 1,585 dpi resolution
- From 8.5-in. up to 60-in. print width
- Different print modes
- Speeds up to 668 fpm
- Fires more than 3 billion dots per second
- Aqueous pigmented ink set is durable, water and lightfast
- Fully modular system
- Available as a mono-color print-bar and full-color printing platform with expanded gamut (EG) printing
Meridian Elite Laser Anilox Cleaner
PCMC’s Meridian Elite laser anilox cleaner is known for providing fast cleaning cycles. Patented technology deep cleans engravings of any linescreen, allowing anilox rolls to perform at correct volumes.
It’s smart and connected features keep operating at peak efficiency. Winner of a 2020 FTA Technical Innovation Award and the 2020 Label Industry Global Award, it offers:
- A single laser (dual lasers are not faster or necessary)
- Patented rotational scanner means no increased surface temperature or hot spots
- Requires no liquids, chemicals or air supply, eliminating messy waste
- Removes most types of inks, adhesives, glazes, varnishes and coatings
- Roll database using serial number of roll—or add a bar code scanner to scan roll data
- Automatic roll diameter sensing
- Standard internal camera and viewing monitor to see cleaning process without opening or stopping machine
- Dual-stage filtration (third-party certified) with internal traversing vacuum system
- Low operating cost—requires only electrical
- Highly reliable with low maintenance
- Accelerate Monitoring technology, a cloud-based roll reporting system that provides local and remote maintenance alerts and real-time troubleshooting
PCMC continues to adapt its printing equipment to bring substantial benefits like maximum plant efficiency and flexibility, high productivity and quality, and operator safety. A corporate mindset, built on smart adaptability, leads to continuous improvements, which provide the latest innovations and technology needed to meet today’s most challenging demands.
About the Author
