Elk Grove Village, IL — SCREEN Americas announces the installation of its high-definition, continuous roll-fed inkjet web press, the Truepress Jet520HD+, to Consolidated Solutions of Cleveland, Ohio. The press, which was installed in August 2021, is the second SCREEN press for the printer. The first, a Truepress Jet520EX, was installed in 2015.

With local and national clients spanning several different markets including retail, medical, housing, commercial real estate, healthcare, insurance, higher education, sports and manufacturing, Consolidated Solutions sought technology to meet the demands of sophisticated buyers, particularly those in the healthcare industry whose high expectations include achieving color quality and maintaining their mail date compliancy requirements. The Truepress Jet520HD+ has proven to be the best solution for this meticulous market allowing Consolidated Solutions to have the capacity to add more healthcare communications work without the need for additional staff. SCREEN’s technology and overall reliability will allow the printer to grow in other lines of revenue.

While the company’s high volume commercial and direct mail projects are primarily produced on the Truepress Jet520HD+, the Ohio solution provider’s black and white transactional jobs are reserved for the Truepress Jet520EX. Prior to 2015, Consolidated Solutions relied on cut-sheet devices for its variable data work, however they proved to be too slow and unreliable for the time-sensitive healthcare and insurance markets, according to the company’s chief executive officer, Matt Reville. “For our day-to-day projects that were continual, we needed a press that could handle large volumes at high speeds,” said Reville. “Our smaller jobs that are non-repetitive are now assigned to the cut-sheet devices.”

The addition of the new SCREEN press came at a critical time for Consolidated Solutions. It has experienced growth in its healthcare segment during the past two years both in personnel and sales and it needed to react quickly to the increased demand. “We have a great partnership with SCREEN and the Truepress Jet520HD+ is helping us to meet the increased needs of our clients,” said Reville. 

Founded in 1996, Consolidated Solutions employs 150 individuals, operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week and has two facilities located within a block of each other totaling 200,000 square feet. Both SCREEN presses are arranged in a straight-line configuration parallel to one another in proximity to the finishing equipment dedicated to the company’s direct mail applications.

About SCREEN Americas
SCREEN Americas, a SCREEN Graphic Solutions group company established in 1967, is a leading provider of digital inkjet technology serving the commercial, publishing, direct mail, transactional, packaging, folding carton and label industries. In 2021, SCREEN Americas relocated its headquarters to Elk Grove Village, Illinois, with an upgrade that included a 14,000-plus square foot Inkjet Innovation Center.

www.screenamericas.com

Taghleef announces the extension of Titanium™ product family

Taghleef Industries announces the extension of its Titanium™ product family with two additional metallic films for in mold labeling applications.

Since its launch in 2015, LTZ film has been promoted under the corporate Titanium™ brand name. LTZ is a unique multi-layer film characterized by an exclusive silver look delivering either a brilliant “mirror like” gloss or a matt “gunmetal” effect to the labeled container. The strength of Titanium™ LTZ lies in its metallic component as one of the inner layers of its structure, which removes the possibility of scratching and improves ink adhesion.

The extension of Titanium™ product family is driven by Taghleef’s aim to offer a wider selection of metallised in mold label films, used to better differentiate products on the shelf with a premium bright finish.

The new Titanium™ portfolio will include the following metallic in mold label films:
• LTZ – suitable for static charging and vacuum placement
• LHZ – suitable for vacuum placement
• LIZ – suitable for vacuum placement

These substrates serve as perfect metallized labels on PP containers, therefore also represent a suitable alternative to aluminum containers. Suitable applications for Titanium™ films include small, medium and large containers of industrial applications (e.g. paints & coatings), nutraceutical products (e.g. sports supplements), premium brand foodstuff, and more.

Titanium™ product family belongs to Taghleef Industries’ portfolio of in mold label films that enables the widest choice of finishes: from a “no label look” to orange peel, satin finish, smooth finish, glossy finish, and metallic look.

For further information, contact us at labelfilms@ti-films.com

Leading West Midlands based narrow web converter, Daymark Labels, is the latest company to install a Mark Andy Digital Pro 3 press at its production facility in Hartlebury, Worcestershire, and according to General Manager, Kevan Palmer, it has made a fundamental difference to job throughput. “I can’t believe how we coped without it,” he commented, adding “on one of our regular jobs it’s shortened production time from three days to one shift!”

The Digital Pro is a second-generation Mark Andy hybrid that combines a toner-based digital engine for 1200dpi CMYK with a press platform that offers flexo printing before and after the digital module, laminating, cold foiling, rotary or semi-rotary die-cutting, slitting and rewinding, or sheeting and stacking, all in one pass. Not surprisingly, this versatile and modular press is viewed as an all-round production tool with an inbuilt future-proof configurability.

Capable of printing on a variety of stocks, from tags to pressure-sensitive and Tyvek materials, typically self-adhesive stocks, porous and wine label substrates, PET, and PP, without any need for primer, Digital Pro has a production speed of 23.4m/min (77ft/min) and requires no cleanroom environment nor involves any ‘click charge’. It features a simple to use RIP that allows any existing pdf to be printed at the touch of a button, and its small footprint and onboard compressor for its air-cooled LED-UV curing system, make for a ‘plug-in and go’ installation.

For a company like Daymark, which prides itself on serving top quality print to some of the more testing niche markets, the two new Mark Andy presses, Digital Pro and Evolution Series E5, fit their production requirements perfectly. The Evolution Series E5 features the latest Mark Andy servo platform for entry-level flexo. It has 330mm (13”) web width, eight flexo print units, and is the first to be installed in the UK fitted with GEW’s LeoLED/UV curing technology. Specification also includes a web cleaner, overhead rail with turn bar unit, delam/relam, double die stations and a sheeter/conveyor.

Described by Kevan Palmer as ‘the perfect operator’s press’ for its ease of set-up and production, he says its print quality and speed have both exceeded expectations, and significantly, allowed Daymark to bring outwork back in-house with improved customer service.

Founded by Jon Bird Snr in 1974, and now run jointly with son Jon Jnr, Daymark Labels began by specialising in short run work including foil-stamping 1000 labels at a time. The company moved into flexo in the 1980s and later into letterpress with three 340mm presses that are still producing good quality work. In fact, the semi-rotary die station on the new DPro was familiar to Daymark from its letterpress lines.

“We’d been looking at the digital technology on the market for some time, trying to work out the best solution for our customers’ specific requirements,” said Jon Bird, “and then Covid hit, and plans were shelved until such time as we could see how things settled.” Knowing that the company needed to upgrade its flexo capacity and commit to digital for the first time, it was the combination of what Mark Andy had to offer on both fronts that tipped the balance.

Jon Bird takes up the story: “We were ideally looking for a single source supply for both print technologies, and with its reputation in the market for customer support, and a comparison of its product portfolio with other press manufacturers, we decided the way ahead for us was with Mark Andy – and I’m pleased to say that, so far, we are well pleased with our decision on the presses and the level of back-up!”

Currently employing 30 people and aiming for a £3.5m turnover this year, Daymark is keen to grow its label business rapidly in the food and beverage sector and as in pharmaceuticals and the electrical industry, as well increasing its output of tags and tickets. Run lengths vary from 500 to  1 million labels but repeat business is high, which requires close attention to customer service as well as a high-quality product.

“We aim to make life as easy for our customers as possible, and do it with an environmental conscience,” said Jon Bird, adding “It’s a matter of educating the market about sustainability and what is actually achievable. We believe our partnership with Mark Andy will help us to achieve that and grow our business organically.”

Speaking for Mark Andy, Sales Manager Phil Baldwin commented: “Daymark has invested in the very latest technology we have to offer, and it will allow them to manufacture a wide variety of printed products as cost-effectively as is currently possible. The DPro has enabled Daymark to produce jobs in a single pass that previously required multiple presses. Both new Mark. Andy presses, the Evolution Series E5 and the DPro are scalable, allowing them to be adapted to meet changes in market demand. We are looking forward to supporting Daymark in their quest for ‘green production’ in the days and years to come.”

About Mark Andy Inc.
Mark Andy is a pioneer of the graphic arts and printing industry. As the world’s leading manufacturer of narrow- and mid-web printing and finishing equipment, it supplies leading global brands, including Mark Andy and Presstek printing presses, Rotoflex finishing solutions, as well as a complete line of Mark Andy Print Products consumables and pressroom supplies. All products are backed by the largest customer support team in the industry, minimizing downtime and helping customers be profitable, efficient and at the forefront of innovation. Mark Andy does what it takes to understand each customer’s unique business, the challenges they face and the pressures they feel. It strives to provide products and services that help customers solve their problems and solutions that go a step further, allowing them to excel in their day-to-day operations, ultimately increasing productivity and reaching their full potential.

For more information, visit www.markandy.com.

One in January, another due in May, and a third scheduled for July – that’s the reality for Catapult Print & Packaging in Orlando, FL, USA, as they hit 7 total Nilpeter FA-Lines installed since 2018. The three new FA-17 are all 9-colour presses, like the previous four, continuing the strategy of “any job, anywhere, on any press.”

New Modern Facilities
Ambitious expansion plans are already in motion for the Florida-based company, with a new, modern 100.000 sq. ft. facility going up next door, built around Catapult’s employees with in-house coffee and panini bars, and of course, room for a plethora of new Nilpeter presses, both in 17’’ web widths, but also venturing into 26’’.

Any Job on Any Press
“I call our press pool Southwest Airlines – they’re all the same, for maximum familiarity and production flexibility. We can print any job, anywhere, on any press. And the technology of the Nilpeter presses allows us to do that – the quality is immense, and they’re very easy to train on, simplifying the process for our 66 employees, of which only two had previously worked as print operators,” says Mark Cook, CEO, Catapult Print & Packaging.

Catapult Print & Packaging specialize in pressure sensitive labels, linerless labels, and to a slightly smaller degree, narrow-web film. Three areas with lots of opportunities, where service, price, and lead times matter – food, household, beverage, etc.

Using their Bellissima digitally-modulated process, Catapult can screen at 350 lines per inch compared to most flexo printers when printing pressure-sensitive, wraparound, and roll stock for flexible packaging. They are one of only two printers in the U.S. producing linerless labels, and their capabilities with unsupported film give customers a world of opportunities in enhanced packaging.

No Compromise
“When we set up the business that was our model – we needed the latest technology to ensure, that strategically, if anything changed, we were agile, and could react quickly, while not compromising or losing our ability to compete on price, lead times, and quality. And with everything that’s gone on these past few years, and in the current climate, that has been paramount – still being able to quote next-day-delivery, always focusing on our customers’ needs. The Nilpeter presses play a huge part in that,” Mark Cook continues.

Pushing Boundaries
“We, at Nilpeter, are both delighted and proud to work with Catapult. They think and do things differently, with a customer-led approach driven by our technology, focused on making a difference in terms of sustainability, employee satisfaction, and of course, product quality. That’s right up our ally, and we couldn’t be happier to continue this journey with them,” says Lenny DeGirolmo, President & Managing Director, Nilpeter USA.

The Most Versatile Flexo Press on the Market
The FA-Line is the most versatile flexo press on the market – designed to accommodate the printer’s ever-growing needs, and built around the modern print operator, with an intuitive user interface and fully mobile print controls.

A benchmark of flexibility and modularity, the FA allows printers to enhance the performance of their press with Value-Adding Units, Application and Automation Packages, according to application needs and budget. Future customisations are often done with a simple press of a button. All main components are produced in-house at Nilpeter in Denmark and the US, meaning higher production quality and control.

www.nilpeter.com

New Oxford, PA – Yazoo Mills, Inc., America’s largest family-owned manufacturers of paper tubes and cores, today announced the appointments of four key leadership team members to Directors of their departments. Michell Trish advances to Director of Accounting & Administration; Richard Smarsh advances to Director of Facilities, Maintenance, & Safety; Steve McMaster advances to Director of Manufacturing; and Chris Evans advances to North American Sales Director.

Proven leaders with decades of experience, the leadership changes reflect a formal alignment of the team’s individual strengths to support the company’s long-term strategic plan entering its 120th year of business.

Each member has played an essential role in the company’s success and growth. They have continuously worked together as a team and advanced through progressively more responsible positions during their tenure. Sharing the organization’s mission and values, they look to continue with the organization’s forward-thinking mindset to provide customers with high-quality products, create an experience that builds long-lasting relationships, and establish direction among the nearly 200 employees.

About Yazoo Mills
Established in 1902, Yazoo Mills is one of America’s largest family-owned manufacturers of 100% recycled paper tubes and cores for 120 years. Serving a variety of industries in the United States, Yazoo has a reputation for excellence in short runs and recutting with manufacturing only premium quality paper tubes and cores, made to each customer’s specifications. On average, the company produces over four-million inches of tubing per day. Companies that require quality, consistency, and ongoing reliability contact Yazoo Mills for all of their needs.

For additional information on Yazoo Mills and their products, visit the website www.yazoomills.com.

Headquartered in Ohio with additional facilities in Wisconsin and Arizona, Repacorp Quality Labels and Packaging is a pioneer, adopting digital printing and laser cutting technology before many of their competitors. As a reliable reseller of stock and custom labels, tags, RFID, flexible packaging, shrink sleeves and wide-format products, Repacorp is dedicated to efficient, fast turnaround. To maintain its reputation for reliability, speed and quality, Andy Heinl, vice president of digital labels at Repacorp has a robust equipment and facility contingency strategy. Heinl’s investment in a Labelmaster from SEI Laser is an important part of this plan. SEI Laser equipment is sold and serviced in North America through Matik, Inc.

Founded in 1974, Repacorp has grown to a multimillion-dollar organization through acquisition and its strength in digital and flexographic printing. The company’s diverse capabilities allow them to deliver small to large orders. Primarily loyal to one brand of laser equipment since 2007, the company recently experienced downtime because of maintenance problems with their existing laser systems.  In addition to lost productivity, some of the laser parts are being discontinued and maintenance costs in recent years have been expensive. 

“One of our workhorses is a laser machine we purchased in 2012 that contains SEI Laser components,” says Heinl. “When we began experiencing issues with our other lasers, we reached out to SEI Laser and Matik, Inc. to get a quote on a new system. Matik has provided service for us previously, and we appreciate their fast response and dependable services.”

In addition to being well-known for reliability, SEI’s Labelmaster has a look similar to Repacorp’s digital printing equipment. Heinl ordered the new laser system with a modular finishing station for flood and spot varnishing as well as laminating. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy for operators to learn. A roll-to-roll and roll-to-sheet laser system, Labelmaster provides fast make-ready and on-the-fly cutting. It offers maximum web speed of 330 feet per minute (100 meters per minute); web widths up to 13.75 inches (350 mm) and roll diameters up to 24 inches (610 mm); and can process a range of materials, such as PET, PP/BOPP and paper. Additionally, the Labelmaster is modular and can be modified for future capabilities with additional digital and conventional processes such as hot-foil stamping, slitting and sheeting.            

For additional information about SEI Laser equipment and to request a sample kit or virtual demo, visit www.matik.com/SEI, call 860-232-2323 or email sales@matik.com.  

Matik, Inc. is the North American distributor of premier European technologies for the printing, packaging, large-format signage, pharmaceutical, textile and other industries. With headquarters in West Hartford, Connecticut, and several regional sales and service offices in the United States and Canada, Matik offers the widest range of printing, converting and packaging equipment in the industry. Matik also provides experienced parts and service support. www.matik.com

By Thorsten Saathoff: In November 2021, Nilpeter A/S presented a new high-end offset printing press. Nilpeter spent the time of the pandemic to make structures even more customer-efficient and to add the finishing touches to a new, even more productive offset printing press.

The world of labels speaks of digitization and digital processes. Is there still room for offset printing in this new world of processes? Not only the manufacturers of labels and packaging are confronted with this question, when choosing the right production machines, but also the press manufacturers when choosing the right and targeted strategy for their press portfolio. The offset process is one of the high-quality processes, that allows difficult materials to be printed and a wide variety of finishing processes to be integrated.

Nilpeter sees it as a logical decision to consistently invest in the further development of the offset Nilpeter MO-Line, as a high-quality way of handling difficult materials and integrating a wide variety of finishing processes.

The MO-Line has set standards
Offset printing, in combination with other finishing and printing processes, is still dominant in the wine & spirits or health & cosmetics markets. With over 200 installations worldwide, Nilpeter’s MO-Line has set the standard for an excellent quality and productivity over the past 25 years. The MO-platform was presented as the successor to the MO-3300 in 2007 at the LabelExpo show in Brussels and was technically revolutionary and innovative even then, with its sleeve technology and the many possible combinations. The attraction and the added value of the machine made up then, as now, the variety of possible combinations. A good reason for Nilpeter, even in the age of digital printing, to invest in the further development of this printing process, but also to use and integrate the possibilities of digital technology and press controls.

Jakob Landberg, Sales & Marketing Director, Nilpeter A/S, “The new MO-Line FUSION was developed with a high degree of automation and minimizes manual work steps, guarantees faster changeover times and reduced start-up waste. In short, the MO-Line FUSION is the complete solution for printers looking for efficient, productive, and market-leading technology. The MO-Line FUSION has no material limitations compared to purely digital technologies on the market”.

Analogue and digital combined
The new offset line combines the best of the world of analogue printing and digital finishing – i.e. a digital high-gloss coating unit can be integrated. Nilpeter’s new ‘High-Build Varnish’ and ‘High Opacity White’ inkjet units open up extensive design possibilities.

Nilpeter’s digital inline print finishing supports a wide range of substrates such as PP, PE, PET, and foil. It can be positioned anywhere in a press configuration via the rail system.

With the HL-technology, high-quality surface structures can be generated, which simulate expensive substrates, emphasize meaningful designs or offer a special feel. The HL-technology can be combined with matt “flood coat” varnish to create micro-embossing techniques used in paper manufacture, or embossing effects applied digitally to text or image details. For an additional effect, extraordinary foil effects can be achieved in combination with a laminating/foil unwinding.

Integration of modules for finishing
Another good example of the embellishment possibilities is the flatbed embossing and foil embellishing unit, the well-known FP, which was launched in 2012, and which is already installed in more than 150 units around the world. These possible combinations are an advantage of conventional offset presses compared to digital presses. The modularly designed Nilpeter MO-Line FUSION offers options to supplement and combine the standard base with numerous modules. Due to the processes and the speed in digital printing, or also in translational offset printing, the Nilpeter MO-Line FUSION, with up to 200 m/min., offers another advantage here.

The new MO-Line FUSION is prepared for all known Nilpeter value-adding modules for increasing the value of the labels:

• Flatbed system FP-5 for hot foil stamping on rails

• Integration of FA flexo units

• Inkjet units for digital opaque white and ‘high build’ varnish

• Quick-change die-cutting unit for quick job changes

• Semi-rotary or full-rotary die unit

• G-4 gravure unit for metallic inks, covering surfaces and coatings

• Nilscreen system for special effects, braille, and opaque white

• Rail-based cross-over unit for multi-layer labels

The new operating concept
As in the FA-Line, Nilpeter has taken into consideration, that the operator can work the printing press without unnecessary handles. All functions on the press can be controlled via an 11″ touch panel on each printing unit. Nilpeter calls this intuitive concept “Clean Hand Operation”. The ink control is integrated into the operating concept and can be operated in a similarly intuitive manner as job handling. Jobs can be saved logically and repeat jobs can be called up quickly. The entire operating concept is connected to Nilpeter’s Power Link System. It meets the industry standard 4.0 and can be integrated into all common MIS-systems.

The printing unit
The MO-Line FUSION printing unit is the result of continuous, further development of the MO-series and 25 years of experience in web offset printing. As with all Nilpeter printing presses, the side frames are made of one piece – “one block” – and are therefore very stable. This feature is very important for offset printing with the higher number of rollers compared to flexo printing, in order to avoid manufacturing tolerances and ultimately to rule out duplicating. The water/ink balance is controlled and adjusted by an intelligent system, to ensure consistent quality of the production run. The press is prepared for all drying concepts, such as UV, ARC, LED, or IR. Hot air drying for water-based or solvent-based inks is possible.

As a custom-made combination printing press with a variety of analogue and digital inline finishing technologies, the platform is designed for both large and small runs with short changeover times. Something speaks for modern, conventional offset printing. Varied finishing options, high speeds, combination of processes in one run.

Stability, quick setup, and the manufacture of special products without material limitations (high-quality wine labels, multi-layer) in one operation. The MO-Line FUSION implements what it stands for, combining stable processes with modern digital modules and the possibility of integrating a wide variety of process technologies.

Thorsten Saathoff, the engineer and business economist has been in the graphic industry for more than 30 years, and as the Managing Director of Nilpeter GmbH Thorsten Saathoff is responsible for the products from Nilpeter, GM, and Prati in the DACH-region.

Technical data Nilpeter MO-Line FUSION

• Production speed: 6-200 m/min.

• Material thickness: 0.0025-0.25 mm

• Substrate width: 225-450 mm

• Printing width offset, max.: 410 mm

• Printing width flexo, max.: 17”

• Offset printing length, min./max.: 12”-25”

• Flexo printing length, min./max.: 12”-25”

• UV-curing standard: 140 W/cm

• UV-curing LED: Optional

• Hot-air: On request

www.nilpeter.com

In the second of the series ‘Know your Films’, we look at the important matter of ‘Shelf Life’.  Jan Eisby, CSO at surface treatment pioneer Vetaphone A/S, discusses with Nick Coombes the effect of time on a substrate’s retained dyne level and explains the importance of knowing this during the whole production process.

NC: Perhaps the first thing to establish is what you mean by ‘Shelf Life’?

JE: For the purpose of this discussion, I’m referring to the various types of plastic film that are used in today’s package printing sector.  Whether it is for use as a label, a shrink sleeve, a pouch or any other kind of flexible packaging, all filmic substrates are non-absorbent and need to be surface treated to allow ink, lacquer, or adhesive to adhere securely.  This begins with the extrusion process, where the substrate being manufactured is Corona treated to obtain a certain dyne level.  And it is what happens to this dyne level over the following days, weeks, and months before the substrate is used in production that is important – that is what I’m referring to as its ‘Shelf Life’.

NC: Why is the dyne level so important?

JE: For any liquid to adhere securely to a film material, the relative surface energy between the two needs to be adjusted.  Untreated film has very low surface energy, which is measured in dynes, so any liquid applied to it will stay on the surface in small beads.  Corona treating the material to increase its dyne level will allow the liquid to adhere during the printing or converting process.  This will produce packaging of high quality that is commercially saleable and significantly reduce the volume of waste produced.

NC: Is the Dyne level achieved by surface treatment at extrusion sufficient for the whole downstream production process?

JE: No, it is not!  If you look at the stages of production involved, you can appreciate the complexity of the situation.  First the film is extruded, then it is printed, then perhaps has an adhesive applied for lamination and maybe a lacquer coating before it becomes the end-product in its finished form.  There is normally a time delay between each of these processes – sometimes short, sometimes long, but whichever it is, time is no friend to dyne levels, because all materials will suffer dyne decay from the moment they are surface treated.

NC: How do you overcome this problem?

JE: To ensure that each process will work as intended, you need to check the dyne level of the substrate before you start.  So, check it before you print and then before you apply adhesive, and again before coating.  This checking even applies to the narrow web sector where many of the processes are done inline in one pass, so without any time delay.  The issue here is that the behaviour of the new digital inks that are becoming increasingly popular is different from the flexo inks that they are replacing, so once again we advise regular testing and checking.

NC: If time equates to dyne decay, where is the biggest problem?

JE: The biggest time delay tends to occur between the film being extruded and when it is used for printing.  This can be a matter of a few days, but more often stretches into weeks and occasionally months.  So, storage of the film is critical.  The problem is that substrate manufacturers do not give clear guidance on this subject in the datasheets relating to the different films they produce.

NC: You said the main issue was storage, what information can you share on this?

JE: For a start, some customers are better equipped to handle storage than others, and dyne decay is not necessarily consistent, so each case is different.  It is also essential that the film was correctly surface treated at extrusion because this will have an impact on its shelf life and ability to be boost treated after storage.  There are four factors involved in dyne decay during storage: time, humidity, additives, and contamination.  These make up what we call the ‘decay profile’.  In general terms, the more you have of each of the four factors, the greater the dyne decay will be.

NC: What is the best way for a converter to test the material?

JE: Using a dyne pen.  It’s a simple, reliable, and inexpensive method, especially if you compare it with the cost of attempting the next process with mis-matched surface energy levels between liquid and substrate.  You can buy the dyne pens from us via our website, so there is no need to take the risk of getting it wrong!

NC: How does Vetaphone help converters to evaluate their substrates?

JE:  Let me give you an example of a customer that supplied us with different materials for testing in our Lab.  These were two types of PE – one with 600ppm of additive, the other a top-coated stock.  Both decayed initially at the same rate, but the top-coated material levelled out after one month at 42 dyne while the other continued to decay over the three months of testing by which time it had decayed to 36 dyne.  So, the choice the customer must make is either spend more money upfront on top-coated material or have the cost and inconvenience of boost treating the cheaper stock after a period of storage.

NC: We have spoken so far of surface treatment in terms of corona – what about plasma?

JE: Plasma is the best form of surface treatment if you need to obtain a high dyne level that can be retained over a long period, typically on films used in agriculture, but for other applications too.  Our Lab test shows that while corona treatment will achieve the desired dyne level for printing or adhesive application, the decay is relatively quick compared with ordinary plasma treatment, where the dyne level attained at treatment is higher and the decay is slower and flattens out at a higher dyne level.  Using high power plasma treatment achieves the highest dyne level, and that level is retained for a much longer period.  But again, it’s a question of cost – plasma is a far more complex and expensive process and corona is better suited in most cases.

NC: Overall, what recommendations does Vetaphone have for converters working with film material?

JE: Knowing your film parameters is essential – how pure is it, how many ppm of additive does it have, what is its granulation?  These are all key elements, so you really need to master the decay profile that I mentioned earlier or go for ‘JIT’ production where storage is not an issue.  If you are storing film, keep the temperature in the 15 – 20 Celsius range, and the humidity between 50 – 60%.  Some transport trucks are air-conditioned, which is good, and make sure you keep the rolls wrapped to keep out dust and dirt.  Finally, to understand the converting parameters, you need ink/adhesive surface tension data from your suppliers.  If you then measure the film surface tension, you can use the curve profile to calculate the boost dosage needed to reach the correct dyne level at each process stage.  There are no short cuts, but Vetaphone can advise you at every step of the way to ensure you make best use of your time and money!

www.vetaphone.com