Top print quality at lower costs

Hardly any other market is as dynamic and diverse as the packaging market. This applies to the raw materials, the finished materials and the finishing processes, as well as to the printing presses and finishing machines, and is no surprise inasmuch as the factors influencing and driving the market are equally varied: economic, social and demographic changes, together with increasingly strict environmental legislation, confront the packaging industry with ever-new challenges.

In recent years, three important market trends have set seemingly contradictory tasks, not only for printers and converters, but also for machine manufacturers:packaging needs to have an increasingly high-quality look, while at the same timebeing inexpensive to produce and – in the spirit of growing environmental awareness – conserving resources.

The printing of the packaging material is a key element in the process chain from the raw material to the end product, and one that is both energy- and capital-intensive.And like every element in the process chain, the printing process is subject to thepressure of costs and as a consequence, is under scrutiny for an enhanced cost-benefit ratio. The sales figures of the Bobst F&K 20SIX launched at drupa 2012 provide evidence that this new CI flexo press comes off very well after this examination.

A sophisticated technology Packaging has long since been intended not only to protect and transport goods, but equally to present them. A high-quality printed image on a material with a highclass look has been proven to encourage people to buy the goods than a comparable product with lower-quality packaging.

Consequently, reliable, consistent quality is a decisive criterion for print buyers. In times of growing demands on print quality, there is automatically also an increasein the demands on the performance of a printing press in terms of consistent qualitywith repeat orders, high resolution of the printed image, and the processing of thin materials.

Flexo printing is a highly sensitive process, particularly as regards impression setting and ink transfer. This means that all the components involved in printingmust be designed for precision in the μm range – both mechanically and in terms of control engineering. Thanks to servo drive technology and high-precision mechanical guides, the F&K 20SIX can handle impression adjustment, i.e. the setting of the anilox roller relative to the plate cylinder and of the plate cylinder to the substrate, with a resolution of 1 μm.

Special calibration devices for parallel positioning of the printing units likewise operate with an accuracy of 1 μm.
However, this precision only fully benefits the print quality if, having once been set, the perfect printing position is maintained throughout the entire process. Additional technical measures are taken to guarantee this. For example, the central impression cylinder is driven directly, i.e. entirely without gears and backlash, and is maintenance-free. In addition to temperature control of the central cylinder, the F&K 20SIX offers an optional temperature compensation system (standard with smartGPS?) to ensure that plate cylinders and anilox rollers remain in the optimum printing position even if the dimensions of the printing unit frames change as a result of temperature fluctuations. Sensors permanently monitor the temperature of the printing unit frames,

immediately sending correction signals to the positioning drives of the plate cylinders and the anilox rollers in the event of temperature changes.

Profitable production, even for very short runs Print designs are increasingly shortlived and limited to the duration of advertising campaignBrands