PACKAGING FEATURE A CLEANER, GREENER, CODING SOLUTION
Steve Ryan, UK sales manager at Rotech Machines, describes how coding can become a source of advantage in an age of heightened environmental awareness that is waging a war on plastic waste
W
ith anti-plastic waste sentiment growing and the UK Government
pledging to tackle the plastic problem via its 25-year plan, packaging sustainability has never been higher on the corporate agenda. This drive to make packaging greener, recycle more and waste less isn’t just an abstract idea discussed in the boardroom. It is in evidence on the factory floor where there is a steady increase in the use of recycled materials such as cardboard sleeves and cartons. When contemplating the introduction of
new, ‘greener’ packaging materials, one major consideration is how they will be handled by packaging equipment, including coders. In our experience, the best technology
for coding onto recycled cartonboard is TIJ (Thermal Ink Jet). The surface of recycled board tends to be more fibrous and undulating than conventional board, causing the ink to spread, with the potential for codes to become illegible.
This might be a problem for CIJ printers, which expel much more ink per drop than TIJ printers. These printers use finer gauge nozzles to achieve a larger number of smaller dots per inch, resulting in a higher clarity code that is less susceptible to spreading. The build of the coder also needs to be
able to stand up to the demands of handling recycled cartonboard. Rotech’s RF Auto, the latest machine in its range, employs a friction feeding system that
Steve Ryan, UK sales manager at Rotech Machines
Rotech uses upgraded drive rollers on its RF Auto offline carton and sleeve coder as well as a film transport system with vacuum, to enable it to cope with the additional dust and fibres generated by recycled boards
‘COLLABORATE-TO-INNOVATE’ PRINTING PHILOSOPHY
OPM Group has installed its second AVT Helios print inspection system with a third and fourth planned for later this year. The investment is part of the operation’s vision to become one of Europe’s top-performing label and flexible packaging printers. The AVT Helios print inspection system is designed for labels and narrow web printing. It offers 100%
Quality Assurance across the entire print production workflow – from set-up through printing to finishing – inspecting any application and any substrate or print type. Susan Ellison, owner of OPM Group, stated: “The consumer driven process of printed labels and
packaging is already becoming more impatient, more demanding and more discerning. To compete with this ever changing market OPM continually investigate and assess the use of new technologies, processes, and materials that will be needed to bring new products to our clients. The whole team recognise the necessity for continuous R&D to meet this strategy by achieving the perfect combination of our core areas of expertise: print, lean manufacture and service.” Privately-owned, independent, OPM (Labels & Packaging) Group was established over 40 years ago, and
serves sectors including pharmaceutical and food and beverage. Since 2009, the company has made continuous capital investment, including printing presses as well as an fully automated MIS system. AVT’s Helios print inspection system was added to OPM’s Nilpeter Asterix Flexo printing operation and at the finishing line, completed with Martin Automatic Fly and splice automation. Both Helios inspection systems are linked to AVT’s PrintFlow Manager and PrintFlow Central quality and process control workflows. PrintFlow Manager ensures that inspection data collected from
all inspection platforms is presented directly to the PCs of print managers and key personnel, promoting improved monitoring, analysis and increased internal production quality and efficiency. PrintFlow Central enables automatic storage of inspection data
as well as job setup data from AVT inspection systems into a single computer (server), enabling improved backup of job parameters/inspection data together with continuous availability of inspection data for PrintFlow Manager as well as WorkFlow Link stations. OPM Group
opmgroup.co.uk
copes with sleeve and cartons made from thinner board which can be liable to twist and warp. Furthermore, the product is held on a pair of vacuum belts for presentation to either the printer (or labeller) to guarantee a perfect print in perfect register. Using packaging with recycled content is one policy FMCG manufacturers are adopting to divert waste from landfill. Another is to switch to biodegradable or compostable packaging. Films based on corn starch and sugar cane polymers are now becoming a commercial reality and potential users want to be confident that they can code onto these emerging substrates. In-house tests undertaken by Rotech have confirmed that TIJ is capable of reliably coding a variety of biodegradable films. As a technique, TIJ is far cleaner than CIJ. Advances in TIJ ink performance and the development of inks with high optical darkness have led to improvements in ink usage optimisation. As a result, TIJ uses far less fluid per code than CIJ and the ink is completely contained within the cartridge, whereas the volatile inks used in CIJ printing are required to be dealt with under COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations. A TIJ printer can be turned on and
switched of at will and uses very little power. By contrast a CIJ printer controller is a far more complicated system, that needs to perform a start-up and shut- down routine to ensure correct operation. With environmental considerations
becoming an integral part of running any business, companies are exploring more sustainable packaging materials and seek to make production cleaner and greener, and this might well go hand in hand with a switch to TIJ.
Rotech Machines
www.rotechmachines.com
PROCESS & CONTROL | JUNE 2018 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
