This EB370 press has been designed for the entry-level market
There are lots of different options to choose from for narrow web flexo machines, but what is available if you just need a straightforward label press? By Nessan Cleary.
Narrow web flexo presses have gained many different features over the years allowing converters to pitch for all sorts of work from complex labels suitable for pharmaceuticals or highly decorated print for beauty and alcohol products all the way up to pouches and other forms of packaging. But many converters just need a straightforward label press and do not want to pay for all these extras. For this reason most press vendors offer an entry-level model that has been stripped back to the basics, with a lower price to match.
These presses are typically only 330mm wide with a limited set of options, such as die-cutting and foiling. They usually have just a basic level of automation around registration settings but have only a limited number of servos, which restricts more advanced features such as recalling settings from memory. However, although prices are similar, each vendor has a slightly different approach so there is quite a variety to choose from.
Keeping it narrow
MPS developed its EB press specifically to target the entry-level label market. This is a 330mm wide press built purely to run paper-based substrates. It uses a viscous coupling direct drive system so that there is no mechanical gearing with all the wear and tear and need for maintenance that that would otherwise require.
It is a completely different machine to the more expensive EF series, with MPS reengineering the entire platform. Nick Tyrer, sales director for MPS UK, explained, ‘It’s built with less servo drive technology. It does have servo drives but it has less electronic packages.’ There is no chill drum and no option to add further electronics to support flexible films or packaging with the press built to run paper-based substrates.
Mr Tyrer continued, ‘Ninety-nine percent of people that buy an entry level press don’t want to run unsupported films and 330mm wide doesn’t really get you in the filmic market place for things like shrink sleeves and wrapper sleeves so there seems little point in adding cost.’
The EB has inherited the i-stop technology from the EF series. This allows the operator to stop the press without lifting the registration so that it can be restarted without any waste. The EB also has a converting rail built in as standard that will take additional units such as cold foil or delaminating units, which can all be added even after the press has been installed. There is also a quick change die-cut system.
Go direct
Omet’s entry-level press is the iFlex, which is a 370mm wide press with a print width of 360mm. It can print on PS plastic and paper, unsupported paper and light carton. There is an option to fit chill rollers, which will allow it to work with unsupported film. It can handle a number of different applications including self-adhesive, in-mould and wrap around labels as well as booklet and coupon labels.
It uses a direct drive system, which Omet describes as a new mechanical concept that eliminates gears in between the shaft and the printing unit so that there is no need for servo motors. Omet said that this leads to higher quality than using a combination of servo and gearboxes. The iFlex can run at up to 190m/min and can be used with both UV and water-based inks.
It uses servos for pre-register and register setting, supplemented with several other useful features, such as iLight, which involves shining a laser beam on each printing cylinder to guide the pre-register settings. There is also iVision, which involves fitting a camera to each flexo unit so that the operator can check and fine-tune the register of each individual colour in real time.
The iFlex can also be fitted with various inline processes including cold and hot foil finishing, rotary screen printing and the Rock’n’roll matrix stripping unit. The press comes with Omet’s ECDC die-cutting fitted as standard, which uses a sliding system to change cylinders and dies.
Pure labels
Bobst has a range of flexo presses, with most capable of printing both labels and some packaging. The M1, however, is built purely for label printing and as such is aimed specifically at the entry-level flexo market. Bobst revamped this model last year, as Federico D’Annunzio, strategic products marketing director, explained, ‘Many customers need an entry level machine so instead of going the full circle we have made optimised mechanics to have a machine that runs extremely well with fast returns on investment, very stable registration and some digital automation.’
Omet’s entry-level iFlex has a number of automated features
He added, ‘We improved the mechanics and made it extremely reliable for when we change the jobs.We added the possibility of adding some digital automation which was impossible before because we had belts. This is not a belt driven machine as it uses gained gearboxes.’
He pointed out that the demand for a press targeted just at label printing is still growing in many emerging markets, ‘Not many people in India, for example, want to go servo, they just want a reliable mechanical machine. Also, it’s cheaper than a servo press,’ he said.
The M1 can handle paper, pressure sensitive labels and light carton. There is a choice of web widths from 370mm to 530mm and the press runs at up to 180m/min.
Bobst also produces an even more basic press, the MX. Mr D’Annunzio said that the concept behind the MX is to offer a press with a fixed configuration with few options so that it is easier and therefore cheaper to manufacture. It is essentially a stripped down M1 so it has similar specifications but will also print alufoil, broadening the applications it can address. However, it is only available with 370mm width and can only take up to eight colours, with the diecutting units limited to a maximum of two. It can be fitted with a cold foil unit, where the M1 can also take a screen printing unit.
Keep your options open
Focus Label Machinery sells the Proflex, which can be built with either a servo drive for the SE version, or with a mechanical line shaft for the more basic E model. Focus said that this mechanical drive can run at speeds of up to 140m/min. In both cases there is a choice of 260mm or 336mm web widths and all models can take up to 10 colours. They are fitted with infrared drying as standard but there are options for both UV and UV LED curing. The print stations use drop in cylinders. They have crush slitters fitted as standard and there is a rail system that allows various other options to be fitted such as cold or hot foil units as well as to add inkjet printing. The SE version also allows for set-up data to be stored and to be re-used for future jobs. It also uses servos to automate some functions such as pre-set tension controls.
Nilpeter’s entry level offering is the FB series, which comes in 350mm and 425mm web widths. Both have a running speed of 228m/min and are aimed specifically at label printing. The basic configuration can be beefed up with several options including screen printing, die-cutting and hot foiling. They have a number of useful features such as an automated plate positioning system, pre-register and re-register.
Mark Andy’s budget press is its Performance P3, which shares the same basic printing platform as the rest of the Performance Series including the open print cylinder design with Mark Andy’s Lock and Load approach for fast job changeovers. It is designed purely for label printing and supports film, paper and pressure-sensitive labels, all from 50 to 305 microns. There is a choice of web widths from 250mm to 330mm and 430mm and it can run at speeds of up to 230m/min. It comes with inline rotary die-cutting and can be configured with hot air drying or UV or UV LED curing or a combination of hot air and UV curing.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that although the price of the press is an important consideration for the entry level market, there are other factors. For a start, you should consider the total running cost of the press and particularly whether or not a mechanical drive will require more maintenance. Another issue is the balance between the cost of the press and its overall productivity that will ultimately determine its profitability, which is after all the most important factor.
