Nordvalls Etikett accelerates production and ensures quality with Print Proof Solutions Perfect Proofer
Nordvalls Etikett AB, of Sjöbo, Sweden, is enjoying accurate proofing and ink mixing with the Perfect Proofer and Colorsat Match ink dispensing system, which has increased production capacity and reduced waste.
‘We had been mixing colours on the press which cuts into available press time and can waste substrates,’ said Knut Nilsson, colour department manager. ‘We had been looking for a solution and our ink supplier suggested we have a look at the combination of a proofer and dispensing system.’
The company is a leading labels supplier and operates three modern facilities. The main plant, where the Perfect Proofer and Colorsat Match system are installed, comprises an 8000 m/sq building with 15 production lines offering flexo, UV flexo, offset, screen, letterpress and digital printing.
The new additions mean that the company can now take colour mixing off the press and test the colour formulations on a table-top proofer. This significantly reduces time spent mixing on the press, which can take up to 25 minutes for a four colour job and longer for the up to nine colour work that it produces on its new MPS presses.
The Colorsat Match enables fast, clean and waste-free recipe production as it dispenses the exact amount of water-based or UV-curable inks needed. The system can improve yields by up to 30%. It can prepare ink batches of 1-5 kg, with a typical 5 kg recipe of four colours dispensed in less than four minutes.
In addition, the dispenser’s user-friendly Ink Management Software (IMS) provides precise formulations. When the company receives a colour specification from the customer, a small batch of ink is mixed in the system and checked with a spectrometer. If necessary, adjustments are made and when the correct colour is achieved it can be tested on the proofer.
The Perfect Proofer is a fully gear-driven replica of a flexo printing unit and uses the same anilox roller type and cell count, polymer plate, tape and drying system as the full job and the same substrates can be used. Nip distances can be calibrated in increments of microns so half tones will be printed on the proofer at the same dot gain as will be experienced on press, achieving identical results.
Apart from the benefits of reducing press make-ready time and substrate wastage, it is possible for proofs from the proofer to be signed off by the customer without them needing to be on site when the job goes to press, which significantly quickens the process.
‘We are able to get much closer to the colour sample than before and we can produce the samples faster, so there are time savings for the customer, too,’ Mr Nilsson explains. ‘These systems have been a cost-effective combination. It has cut the time spent on the press to a few minutes per colour and reduced the amounts of ink and substrate that were wasted.’
