Board changes

The future for Jagenberg

Drupa will be the best time to see what Heidelberg really plans for its future Jagenberg product range. The company is keeping close to its chest just what the major changes will be, except to say: "They are significant; it will be much more than a paint job." This comment from Mark Hogan, business executive postpress for finishing in the UK, comes with a promise that visitors to the show will be able to see the full product range either at the showground or at the nearby Mönchengladbach site.

It is here that Jagenberg intends to centralize its operations and plans for this move, which will involve a factory extension, are now at an advanced stage. Even in the UK the groundwork on the foundations for a more aggressive push into the converting sector is evolving. Five service technicians have now been trained, and frontline and specialist finishing sales staff are having on-going training.

Jürgen Rautert, head of Heidelberg's finishing operations and the mastermind behind the acquisition of Jagenberg, reiterates his statements made in an interview with Converting Today (June issue) saying the aim remains to double its market share in die cutting within five years and increase its already strong position in folder gluing. The company is number two in folder gluers worldwide (with an installed base of 6,000) and number three in European die cutters. Market value for all manufacturers serving the two sectors globally is about €600M.

API strikes cereal gold

A new gold holographic foil from API Foils has been used by MY Cartons to produce a special edition pack for the re-launch of Golden Nuggets cereal for Cereal Partners UK. Following trials in which a range of foils were considered, API's grade 121 holofoil was chosen as the most effective solution. It is said to be exceptionally versatile and suited to the aqueous coatings used on many MY products.

David Jarvis, applications project manager for API Foils, comments: "Holographic technology is developing rapidly and is a valuable tool in the merchandizing battle. The use of holographic foils on packaging can set a package off from the rest, fortify the brand and help brand owners offer on-shelf brand superiority."

Batch inverting makes the difference

"We needed a high speed line that would substantially improve our throughput without increasing manning levels," explains Steve McGuinness, production director for Mayr Melnhof Packaging UK's Deeside plant. "The obvious choice was a Bobst Alpina 110 folder gluer with Easyfeeder II, Batch Inverter and Cartonpack II."

The Deeside site handles work for mainly blue chip clients in the demanding food sector and higher sales have led to a recent increase in throughput, reports the company. The new Alpina line is helping to handle this, running at speeds of up to 625m/min. While the machine is designed for maximum throughput and ease-of-use, it is the peripherals which ensure that the plant can capitalize on its speed, as Steve McGuinness explains.

"Our solution was to specify an integrated loader/batch inverter with the Bobst Easyfeeder II. With this, the operator loads batches of blanks onto a moving apron. These are then automatically inverted and loaded into the Easyfeeder for feeding into the Alpina. The equipment removes the need for batches to be turned, increasing throughput and reducing manual handling. It then maintains a stable height of blanks in the feeder of the Alpina."

EB cure gives shining alternative

Australian company Optimum Metallising (Optimet) has developed what it claims to be a fully recyclable metallized cartonboard as "an environmentally friendly alternative to laminated foil and polyester".

"With our electron beam curing process, we can create a high metallic shine without the multi layer structure needed for using foil or polyester," boasts managing director Richard Reid. "Our product is just as flexible, so it folds without cracking, and just as strong, without compromising aesthetics. We identified the need in this market for an environmentally beneficial alternative, and converters are under pressure to use recyclable materials more and more."

The metallized board can be produced up to 450 micron thick or laminated to corrugated fibreboard for stronger packaging. It is suitable for cartons for premium food products, as well as cosmetics and pharmaceutical packaging. It is available with base materials of SBS, 100 per cent recycled EcoCote or other whiteback board, together with special embossed finishes including Linen, Pinhead or Brush patterns.

Chinese go for Gietz embosser

A Gietz Rofo 870 Tandem r-r/r-s is now in production at Chongqing Hongsheng Printing Co in Fuling, China. This two-station foil stamping and embossing machine processes paper, cartonboard and synthetic materials, either working from reel to reel or from reel to sheet. Platen press based stamping stations allow the use of flat dies, offering significant cost advantages on stamping dies and foil, reports the company.

Chongqing Hongsheng is said to have cited the "unequalled embossing quality" as the main reason for its choice of the Gietz machine. The Chinese company specializes in the manufacture of cigarette packaging and has invested at all levels in the very latest technology.

... and MAN Roland

MAN Roland has won an order from China for sheet-fed presses worth more than €4.3M. Dongguan Hucais Printing Co has been a customer since 1995, and already has several Roland 700 presses, used mainly for producing cigarette packs, multi colour packaging, greeting cards and stationery. It is now adding four more machines - a five colour Roland 900 with coating, a six colour 700 with coating, a five colour 700 with coating, and a four colour Roland 300.

Dongguan Hucais ranks 11th in the top Chinese 100 printing companies. It now plans to enter the international market.

Non stop production

US based Leshine Carton Co chose an Omet Varyflex 670 narrow web UV flexo press to produce cartons for beer bottles 24 hours a day. The 670mm width machine, installed at in March, has eight flexo units and a special non stop Martin unwinder programmed for automatic roll changes. Working at a production speed of 150m/min, it produces over 15,000 cartons/hour.

The press features a video camera system for continuous register control, and in-line die cutting, creasing, embossing and waste removal stations capable of producing cartons up to 32in length.

CTP carton co-operation pays off

Trident UK purchased, tested and installed a complete CTP system for A&R Carton, at Chesterfield, and trained the workforce. Now A&R is producing print-ready plates in just eight minutes, when it used to take 40min. Digital art files from suppliers are converted to plates in hours instead of days.

"Our new CTP technology has made our turnaround times incredibly fast," affirms Ian Walvin, reprographic manager for A&R Carton. "We can respond to our customers more quickly, which helps them get their products to market faster." Plate quality is also said to have improved.

The package supplied by Trident included a Lüscher CTP plotter and a full Apple Mac system. It also set up digital links using a high speed ISDN line with A&R Carton to facilitate transfer of art files. This would allow Trident to manage the system from a remote location rather than having a person on-site. Finally, A&R Carton workers were trained to send digital files from customers to Trident for conversion, receive the corrected files back, check the work and send it to the plotter to produce the plates.