Printers from 15 countries visited Bobst for its latest technology event, which focused on high speed and wide web width flexo printing, in February. The event was divided in two sections – in the morning the company held an information seminar, and in the evening visitors were shown print demonstrations. The print demonstration for the company’s flagship F&K 20SIX series of CI flexo presses, which is a CS model featuring a print width of 1650 mm, a repeat of 1200 mm, and a speed of 600 m/min.
A spokesperson for Bobst says, “The extensive range of equipment on board the press included F&K smartGPS, shaftless winders, a Bobst three-chip camera, a 100 per cent inspection system, a special slitting device, and an auxiliary system for sleeve and cylinder handling. The company says during the demonstration, two five-colour jobs were run at 600 m/min. The changeover of the print sleeves in between the two jobs was performed using the cylinder handling system, which gave visitors an idea of its ‘fast and user-friendly handling of even large format printing hardware’. “For impression and register set-up, F&K smartGPS, Bobst’s off-press technology was used, so visitors witnessed a complete changeover – from the end of the first five-colour job to saleable quality of the subsequent job – in less than 15 minutes,” the spokesperson added. For the seminar session Bobst sales directors, Bill Duckham and Hermann Koch spoke of the challenges printers face on a press, designed for high speed and wide width applications, and how the technical solutions integrated into the F&K 20SIX meets these challenges. “Visitors heard that, most importantly, the specific technologies and measures that ensure consistently superior print quality throughout the process are related to: mechanical rigidity of cylinders and bearings; high precision impression adjustment; ink transfer from the ink chamber to the substrate; and to guaranteed drying of ink on the substrate,” the spokesperson says. The second part of the information seminar covered plastic film as a packaging substrate and the ‘problems’ convertors are faced with – from pellet quality to reel/winding quality of the film material. Sascha Skora from Reifenhäuser Blown Film spoke about the latest developments in extrusion and how the visitors can take advantage of the ‘inspection systems to ensure superior film quality throughout the process’. Carolin Struller from Bobst Manchester, spoke about the company’s research on AlOx clear coating, from the way it is produced and its performance on various filmic substrates, through to its barrier retention with subsequent processes of printing and converting. “AlOx coating is especially suitable for packaging where product visibility is required, including baked goods and microwaveable food,” the spokesperson said.
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