Camis managing director David Pesenti oversees a recent installation of a Camis Irisleeve 1503 Total Workflow Control Plate Mounter with full width tape applicator
Decreasing the amount of press operator ‘hands on’ time is paramount to avoiding bottlenecks in production. By using plate mounting machines with a high degree of automation, downtime is reduced and print quality ensured. Neel Madsen gets an update from the suppliers.
Consistent repeatable processes will produce consistently high quality print, and while the print process starts with the quality of the plate, it is vital that it is mounting accurately and quickly. Today’s plate mounting machines take the variables out of this particular task and according to the manufacturers, they are selling like hot cakes.
When looking at plate mounting machines, clients should be looking for solutions said Mike Attard of Eurograv. ‘A holistic approach throughout the plate mounting process must be maintained if the benefits of the latest technologies are to be delivered on the press and in the end product. The correct and systematic application of the relevant portions of the plate mounting process has to be adopted to be able to constantly improve the printing process so that it can compete with the other print processes that do not have any manual interventions what so ever.’
Easy on and easy off
Eurograv Limited, global distributors for the Camis range of plate mounting systems, advises that the new DMTS De-mounter and Taper Slide (powered tape application system) has awoken clients insights as to the possibilities of what full process control in the plate mounting department can help them achieve.
Export sales director, Mike Attard, said that the company has delivered a large number of these DMTS machines to both European and North America clients, serving existing plate mounters, and these clients have been impressed with both the speed and repeatability of the tape application, but also the vast reduction in plate damage whilst removing plates. The DMTS ensures the safe removal of plates without any pulling, whilst achieving a higher level of standardisation of the tape application.
Camis manufactures Taper-Slide powered tape applicators for either single or multiple lane applications, and the DMTS has been delivered up to 2000 mm wide for both cylinders and sleeves.
Mr Attard explained, ‘Over the past few months, we have had the opportunity of meeting our clients at many of the international trade fairs, and the feedback after a few months of operating the DMTS is that it has dramatically increased the speed of the tape application by up to 80% and they have also seen a reduction of at least 50% in plate damage compared to manual operations.’
According to Mr Attard, it is automating the total workflow in the mounting department that gives Camis machines their advantage. He stressed that it is not just about registration these days, but about taking a holistic approach to plate mounting and try to semi-automate as much of the process as possible without unrealistic machine prices. He added, ‘The market for machines costing hundreds of thousands of euros is rather small. Instead the vast majority of master printers require highly accurate well-built quality machines that are easy to use; that remove the manual application of the operators individual touch and answer every single aspect of plate mounting, from sleeve and adaptor changing through to tape and plate application.’
The Camis Irisleeve Total Work Flow Control Mounter promises a turnaround of sleeve on and off, with tape and plate applied in a semi-automated fashion within 3½ minutes, whilst standardising all applications from operator to operator and job to job. ‘Clients regularly give us four operators to mount two sleeves each on an eight colour job,’ explained Mr Attard. ‘Then we go to the press to see the repeatability of our Camis Total Work Flow Control System before we sign off a new installation.’
He continued, ‘It should be well understood now that for some time the market is using 10 micron HD dots, so registration levels much meet this criteria. However, we feel the real the issue for printers is how much of their plate mounting process actually achieves equally high levels of accuracy?’
Wider narrow width
JM Heaford launched the FTS range of plate mounters in 2013, and since then sales have exceeded all expectations with leading label manufacturers worldwide investing in the technology. ‘The FTS machine is now accepted by the industry as the quickest and most user friendly label plate mounter available today,’ said international sales manager, Graham Harrison. He added that one of Europe’s leading label manufacturers now have six FTS machines within its three plants with more planned as the company continues replacing their conventional plate mounters.
The approach by JM Heaford within the label sector has not gone unnoticed within the flexible packaging sector. As the widths of CI flexo presses become narrower and job changeovers more frequent, the manufacturer was approached to build a 900 mm wide version of the FTS equipped with motorised cameras to enable multiple plates to be mounted across the face of the sleeve.
AV Flexologic’s SAMM 2000 uses patented image recognition software to position the plates automatically
The result is the FTS 900 2CM which was launched at the Hispack exhibition, held recently in Barcelona. The machine attracted much attention both from label printers looking to increase their printing web widths, and from flexible packaging companies planning to invest in the new narrower width machines offered by Windmöller & Hölscher, Soma, Comexi and Uteco. One Spanish customer stated that he’d never imagined that plate mounting could be made so quick and simple but still keep the accuracy required, said Mr Harrison, and revealed that JM Heaford has already received orders for the FTS 900 2CM and is currently installing one at a leading flexible packaging machine manufacturers demonstration facility.
The company is constantly looking for new ideas within the field of plate mounting and has its own in-house design team. By talking to and working with its extensive customer base, it aims to keep abreast of customers’ needs and expectations.
Mr Harrison said, ‘Key words are price, speed and accuracy all of which can be achieved, but normally this comes at the cost of at least one of the key elements. Everyone agrees that price is important but it should not be the key driver when looking to make an investment, which should give maintenance free operation for many years. Many customers sometimes overlook the importance of a well-established after sales support network and find themselves unable to receive the timely assistance from the manufacturer.’ JM Heaford has developed an ROI calculation which enables customers to see the payback times achievable given the savings on mounting time, press downtime, wasted substrate and inks.
With drupa less than a year away, JM Heaford is planning the launch of a new flexible packaging concept plate mounter which promises a revolutionary design and method of mounting that will limit the reliance upon the skill of the operator. ‘The new concept plate mounter will surprise many within the industry. It’s a new way of mounting which I’m very excited about,’ stated Sally-Anne Heaford.
Meeting the challenges
Established in the late 1960s, AV Flexologic started out as Anderson and Vreeland n.v. Holland. Since 2009, it has been owned by the Otten family. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, and its product range encompasses a complete line of mounting and proofing machines for various markets, flexo platemaking systems, viscosity control equipment, and seamless sleeve making systems.
The company recognises that the flexo industry today is facing several major challenges and said that these can easily be met by automating the plate mounting process.
‘As the flexo printing industry strives to increase the quality of the output and increase efficiency, the importance of an optimised pre-press stage is becoming a necessity. Common issues in mounting leads to press downtime, which results in unnecessary machine and waste material costs as well as opportunity costs,’ said general manager Martijn Otten.
Shorter job runs means increasing relative costs of pre-press. More printing jobs per day require more CTP work and more plate mounting. This claims a bigger share of pre-press capacity. At the same time, there are increasing quality demands. Across the industry, the demand for high quality print is increasing with 175-200 lpi becoming more common and six and seven colour gamut gaining terrain on four colour gamut.
The solution to these challenges is automatic mounting.Automation of the mounting process results in higher efficiency and quality in the pre-press stage, which prevents press downtime due to operator dependency.
Mr Otten said, ‘Mounting and pre-press issues, such as air bubbles under the plate/tape and inefficient tape application can lead to press downtime and low quality output. By automating the mounting process, the printer can eliminate these issues and at the same time increase its mounting and production capacity.’
He also said that across the industry there are different interpretations of what automatic mounting entails. Automatic mounting is more than just automatic movement of cameras and cylinders. The core purpose is to automatically position plates accurately and consistently. Image recognition software registers the position of the mounting marks and can mount consecutive plates in the exact same position down to several microns. This means no manual positioning for the operator, which results in faster and more accurate mounting, less press downtime and 100% repeatability.
AV Flexologic’s product range includes the Fully Automatic Mounting Machine (FAMM) and the Semi Automatic Mounting Machine (SAMM). The FAMM is aimed at the mid and larger sized printing companies, while the SAMM has been developed for the smaller to medium print operation. Both use patented image recognition to automatically mount plates onto sleeves or cylinders.
Customer feedback has been extremely positive. After installing an FAMM, a spokesperson from Amcor said, ‘The FAMM has delivered extensive safety performances as well as an incredible quality record that I would never imagined could have been possible. I would recommend to any printer that if volumes are warranted, the purchase of a FAMM is something that should be seriously considered. The machine is basically maintenance free and is extremely simple to use.’
