Packaging

New BOBST flexo press cuts brand owner costs and opens markets to box makers. New diecutter complements high definition print press

Wednesday 17. November 2010 - At its COMPETENCE '10 open house event, BOBST launched MASTERFLEX-HD, a flexo post-printer which sets a new standard in high quality graphics printing.

The press allows brand owners to benefit from the cost advantages of packaging that is manufactured using flexo print on corrugated board or microflutes. With the MASTERFLEX-HD in plant, box makers can exploit additional markets for their flexo products. At COMPETENCE ’10 BOBST also launched EXPERTCUT 1.6, a new mid-range diecutter with performance and accuracy that complements the rest of the BOBST Autoplaten range.

A new standard in flexo post print
MASTERFLEX-HD represents a new technical solution for the delivery of ultra high quality flexo printing on corrugated board, microflutes, and even heavy solid board. Advanced control technology and ultra-precise, automatic print register adjustment is integrated into the press allowing users to take advantage of the detail that very fine anilox rolls and plates can deliver.
These advances mean that brand owners can move their packaging from solid board to microflutes or corrugated, where they can benefit from reduced packaging weight, gain the price advantages of printing using flexo, yet retain high quality of print. Box makers who use the new press will be able to exploit additional market opportunities with brands that currently use litho printed products. MASTERFLEX-HD also opens up fresh perspectives in the printing of brown boxes thanks to a new system developed in conjunction with Fx Colors. This system uses unique color separation technology to deliver dazzling images on recycled board.
Sylvain Rebet, Head of Sales and Marketing for BOBST flexo press, diecutter, and foiling products said, “Around the world we have seen many box maker customers of ours using their existing MASTERFLEX lines to run work that had previously been printed offset on solid board, or was litho laminated. Because of the quality that the MASTERFLEX-HD delivers it now makes it possible for them to offer brand owners flexo printed microflute or corrugated products as a cheaper, greener alternative to offset.”
Key to the advances inside the MASTERFLEX-HD has been the development of a system which senses printed marks on the sheet and uses this information to bring each print unit into register on start-up. This system is called ‘Start & Go’ and automatically adjusts print length, skew, and both transverse and longitudinal register. Jobs can be set up using just a few sheets and once set will remain in perfect register for the entire length of the run. A direct drive feeder ensures that sheets are not crushed or marked on feeding, and also allows for the correction of the position of the front edge to ensure that the first color, and all subsequent ones, are printed in the right locations relative to the sheet edges.
The MASTERFLEX-HD builds on the technology developed for the MASTERFLEX-A and has involved working closely with suppliers of anilox rolls, inks, stereos, etc. Sylvain Rebet said, “What we have done is not only develop the capabilities of the machine, but we have also worked with suppliers of key components in the flexo printing process to help optimize their products for it.”
iQ300 checks every sheet printed by the press and ejects any which do not meet user-set criteria, which can include print defects, defects in the board surface, and variations in wash boarding, among others, even at the full running speed of the press.
At the COMPETENCE ’10 event the MASTERFLEX-HD was shown in line with the BOBST LOADER-ML automatic loader. LOADER-ML ensures the feeding of delicate and high added-value sheets without damage to the printed surface, the sheet edge, or the overhang on litho laminates and also ensures consistent feeding.
Unmatched productivity and accuracy in mid-range diecutting
Also launched at COMPETENCE ’10 was EXPERTCUT 1.6, the new BOBST mid-range diecutter for corrugated and micro-flute applications.
EXPERTCUT 1.6 has been designed to be highly productive, with job changeover in less than eight minutes, a 6’000 sheets per hour running speed, and a small footprint, giving it very high productivity per square meter of floor space used.
Mr Rebet said, “We saw that it was time for some development in our diecutter product range between the entry level VISIONCUT 1.6 and the ultra-high performance MASTERCUT 1.7 / 2.1. The EXPERTCUT brings versatility, performance and reliability to mid volume producers who don’t need the higher speeds or larger formats of the MASTERCUT.”
The EXPERTCUT 1.6 has a new platen movement which delivers more productivity and more control over the die-cutting process. Other developments in the feeder, stripping section and delivery contribute to the diecutter running with fewer interruptions and to further productivity gains. A tension wheel on the gripper bar chains, vulcanized chain guides, and increased insulation all help reduce noise. A color touch screen with ‘Smart Setting’ is used to operate the machine.
Two custom packs are available for the EXPERTCUT 1.6.
The Accuracy Pack boosts the already high cutting precision of the EXPERTCUT by adding BOBST’s Power Register system which ensures perfect cut-to-print register by dynamically adjusting the position of each sheet as it arrives at the platen in-feed. This system is particularly useful when running litho-laminates or board made with pre-printed liner. The Accuracy Pack also features lateral blowers at the feeder and a gripper opening system at the stripping station.
A Productivity Pack delivers the upgrade to 6’000 sheets per hour, a lifted delivery with 300mm batch height, and a new continuous feeding device which prevents interruption in the flow of sheets during evacuation of the batch.