Working Overtime to Eliminate Downtime
October 2002
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Time is money and wide-web flexo suppliers continue to try and save as much of each as they can.
LIKE IT OR not, society has become a place where everybody wants something now (or better yet, yesterday), leading to fax machines, cell phones, PDAs, laptop computers, and microwave ovens. Time is money and any wasted time is the same as playing three card monty in Times Square, i.e. wasted money.
With the cost of operating wide-web flexo presses still relatively high, converters must find ways to increase press uptime and efficiency. How and where to find this improved productivity is the $64,000 question, and while the answers may seem simple, implementation can be a tad bit more difficult in today's economic climate.
New technologies provide speed and uptime improvements
The first thing printers need to recognize is what is happening in the market to improve the overall operation of wide-web flexo. For PCMC Global Business Development Manager Tom Jacques, the solutions lie in new technology. "The most important factors have been the development of gearless printing technology that have been aided by advancements in servo drives, printing sleeves and press design, and new drying technology," Jacques says. His company has paid particular attention to these variables since the 90s, with a sleeve presentation system on PCMC's Infiniti family of presses designed specifically to cut changeover time and reduce sleeve damage.
"PCMC's Sleeve Presentation System has improved changeover time and ease of operation, which in turn gives more uptime available for other jobs," he says. "This increases the press' capacity and lowers its overall production costs."
Comexi America Inc. sales manager Rick Ruenzel also credits the introduction of sleeves as having a tremendous influence on increased productivity. In fact, sleeve presses make up 95 percent of Comexi's press production.
Gearless presses have played a large role in providing increased accuracy and repeatability of print jobs, while a more process-oriented mentality in recent years has helped to improve finished product quality and repeatability. For example, PCMC's Avanti gearless press employs new drying technology to better handle films which are sensitive to heat and tension disturbances.
PCMC's latest development is the Infiniti II Gearless Press, which provides better performance and an improved cost/benefit ratio. "This trend will continue for the foreseeable future—better, faster wide-web presses to continue lowering overall production costs," Jacques says. Another PCMC development is its eXtreme dryer, which allows higher press speeds and lower retained solvents.
LIKE IT OR not, society has become a place where everybody wants something now (or better yet, yesterday), leading to fax machines, cell phones, PDAs, laptop computers, and microwave ovens. Time is money and any wasted time is the same as playing three card monty in Times Square, i.e. wasted money.
With the cost of operating wide-web flexo presses still relatively high, converters must find ways to increase press uptime and efficiency. How and where to find this improved productivity is the $64,000 question, and while the answers may seem simple, implementation can be a tad bit more difficult in today's economic climate.
New technologies provide speed and uptime improvements
The first thing printers need to recognize is what is happening in the market to improve the overall operation of wide-web flexo. For PCMC Global Business Development Manager Tom Jacques, the solutions lie in new technology. "The most important factors have been the development of gearless printing technology that have been aided by advancements in servo drives, printing sleeves and press design, and new drying technology," Jacques says. His company has paid particular attention to these variables since the 90s, with a sleeve presentation system on PCMC's Infiniti family of presses designed specifically to cut changeover time and reduce sleeve damage.
"PCMC's Sleeve Presentation System has improved changeover time and ease of operation, which in turn gives more uptime available for other jobs," he says. "This increases the press' capacity and lowers its overall production costs."
Comexi America Inc. sales manager Rick Ruenzel also credits the introduction of sleeves as having a tremendous influence on increased productivity. In fact, sleeve presses make up 95 percent of Comexi's press production.
Gearless presses have played a large role in providing increased accuracy and repeatability of print jobs, while a more process-oriented mentality in recent years has helped to improve finished product quality and repeatability. For example, PCMC's Avanti gearless press employs new drying technology to better handle films which are sensitive to heat and tension disturbances.
PCMC's latest development is the Infiniti II Gearless Press, which provides better performance and an improved cost/benefit ratio. "This trend will continue for the foreseeable future—better, faster wide-web presses to continue lowering overall production costs," Jacques says. Another PCMC development is its eXtreme dryer, which allows higher press speeds and lower retained solvents.
Companies Mentioned:
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