Quick… smart… analytical… consistent… connected—To increase efficiency and productivity in your printing process, the first thing to do is print faster.
Beware: top mechanical speed can be far from the achievable printing speed. Closing the gap requires reducing and even eliminating speed-related printing problems. Innovation has led to success. Intelligence and integration make it all possible. Simply put, it’s engineering genius.
All photos courtesy of Comexi
Today, anti-bounce safeguards, enhanced drying options, modified press deck components that promote stability, auto-wash, auto-registration and auto-impression systems and new inking arrangements are revolutionizing the market. Key performance indicators document their effectiveness in heralding continuous production improvements.
Let’s walk through what’s happened, using Comexi’s F2 Evolution press as a barometer.
Production Minded
The new Comexi F2 Evolution press is capable of printing 10 colors up to 2,000 fpm and accommodates web widths ranging from 44-in. to 67-in. It is designed to dispense with the aforementioned gap. How?
- Software incorporates an intelligent algorithm that anticipates bouncing and adapts the torque of the plate cylinder motors, reducing the oscillations more than 50 percent
- Specially designed, compacted and oriented carbon fiber mandrels are features
- An 8.3-in. anilox diameter provides a solid back holding of the entire printing deck
- Hydraulic locking achieves 10x higher pressure than standard pneumatic clamping
- The robust, Monobloc, cast iron frame is preloaded, and oversized linear guides are included
Better still, certain elements are so heavily feature-laden that they deserve individual mention. For example, GeniusDry—the all-new Comexi drying system. Here:
- A 16.5-ft.-long drying tunnel with newly designed drying nozzles and structure increases drying performance by 25 percent
- Newly designed inter-color dryers increase performance by 20 percent with 10 percent less air circulation preventing ink drying on the plate. That’s a 165 fpm drying booster!
- Two completely independent drying systems, utilizing four fans for almost endless drying power. It is so high that the press is equipped with three drying modes—low, medium and high—to adapt to the requirements of the different jobs
- Automatic recirculation
Quick Change
Uptime is a critical efficiency driver, especially when it comes to mid and short runs. So, in the interest of promoting fast changeover, artificial intelligence takes center stage with modified print deck component design and new inking methodologies taking supporting roles.
Comexi’s patented GeniusPrint system is a fully automatic pressure and register adjustment comparing 100 percent of the REAL printing with 100 percent of the artwork. It is a total hassle-free solution to have the best printing result with no human intervention. Intuitive touch panels mean customer files are available fast and easily. GeniusColor adjusts color, achieving Delta E of less than or equal to 2 in a maximum of two attempts.
When it comes to avoiding unexpected stops, a new inking system with asymmetric pumps generates a slight negative pressure inside the ink system, preventing leaking. This adaptation is available with pneumatic or electric pumps. Plus, the new, patented, minimum-pressure automatic registration—GeniusPrint—system and improved inter-color drying prevents the plate from getting dirty. Together, the improvements promote better maintenance and ergonomics to keep your press running.
In similar fashion, patented toolless magnetic doctor blade chambers weighing just 25-lbs. permit operators to change the doctor blade chambers in one minute—no screws, no holes.
Operators can also change the plate cylinders and anilox, while working. Think of that as an opportunity when running a 5-color job in a 10-color press. Modern features afford efficiency of safely introducing an entire new job while the press is still printing the previous one.
Plus, a more efficient automatic wash up system—GeniusFlow—ensures a Delta E of less than or equal to 1.5 when changing from a dark to light color.
Shedding further light on the importance of Comexi’s new patented doctor blade chambers, I’ll point to the extremely robust doctor blade holder with a flat surface for achieving a perfect fitting of the chamber, which is mounted over newly designed linear guides for increased stability while moving to a working position. Forward/backward movement is controlled through low-friction pistons, directly connected to the doctor blade holder to absorb vibrations.
Dynamic Dataset
Own your data wherever you are, whenever you are. Stay connected to your press and data thanks to the Comexi Cloud. With Production Analytics, all the information you can ask for is one click away. All the press information is automatically updated and accessible to you from everywhere—from your laptop, tablet or smartphone—in real time and with historical data.
Information includes color sequence, ink viscosity, anilox parameters, web tension, substrate thickness, width, name of the operator, real-time speed, information for all press stops (labeling why, who and for how long)—You name it. Production Analytics will automatically compile and organize all data and provide graphics and useful KPI insights, leading to continuous production improvement.
On the maintenance front, with the Comexi F2 Evolution, you always get a virtual twin of your very own press, with absolutely every single screw. It’s COOL (Comexi Ordering OnLine). By searching within COOL, you will find all the information about your part: identification number, delivery time, price, weight, etc. Plus, all the press manuals are available and always updated on the Comexi Cloud platform.
Troubleshooting is virtually carefree. Connect 24/7 and get virtual, in-person support with Smart Glasses.
Consistent & Reliable
Better quality print production is getting easier and easier to achieve. At Comexi, we credit the development, in part, to enhanced longitudinal registration—among the best, if not the best on the market, ensuring +/- 25 microns (+/- 0.001-in.); plus, high-intensity pressure controls—also among the best on the market—that ensure maximum overpressure between 0.0007-in. to 0.00275-in. Not too long ago, that was considered most astonishing.
Both pressure and registration control are absolutely automatic, without needing any highly experienced printer—the machine makes the job. For example, Virtual Master is our patented registration control system. Instead of the central drum being the master, and all the printing decks following it, the Comexi F2 Evolution uses a virtual master (computer) that tells each printing deck and central drum what to do. It delivers the best total indicated runout on the market of +/- 2.5 microns.
How is that possible? Placement of a patented Direct Encoder on the shaft of the plate cylinder mandrel provides the most accurate position information. Plus, it’s an alternative to servo motors.
With near-perfect pressure control coming from GeniusPrint and the robust construction of the press, best-possible results are achieved non-stop, while minimizing dot gain, and therefore avoiding dirty print. GeniusDry delivers a better trapping result and GeniusFlow ensures precise ink control. An embedded 100 percent inspection HD camera system allows operators to monitor the results at all times and track any defect in real time. Peak performance is possible!
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