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Efficiency and throughput in label printing

Exceptional colours and coatings are in demand in label printing. A system from Pulse Roll Label Products is designed to improve throughput.

In label printing, exceptional colours and coatings that match the latest technologies are in demand. They also play an important role in increasing efficiency. A new system is now designed to help companies improve their throughput.

However, many print shops are still missing out on opportunities to improve these important tools. Ink transforms packaging and labels from pure functional objects into visual branded products. The choice of ink a company makes affects the repeatability and quality it can achieve. Outdated ink systems that mix Pantone and use multiple screening processes cause unnecessary costs and delays.

With advances in ink technology, some ranges even enable ground-breaking new processes such as the Monolox Fixed Anilox Printing System. All too often, however, companies neglect these benefits because they do not recognise the Prioritising costs over efficiency and throughput which ultimately hinders production.

By using their resources more consciously, print shops can minimise the speed up prepress, set-up and changeover and thus increase their profit margin to a greater extent, than a small fluctuation in the price of printing inks ever could.

Display

The colours of PureTone enable better printing of labels, for example
(Image: Pulse Roll Label Products)

Process for more printing efficiency

Changeover times are one of the biggest enemies of efficiency in flexo label printing. Colour matching, plate filling and anilox roller changes cause waste and reduce throughput. On average, flexo presses are idle 50 per cent of the time. Until this is rectified, print shops will need more and more investment in machinery and longer shifts.

Monolox Fixed Anilox Printing, the flexo process promoted by Pulse Roll Label Products, is designed to improve printing efficiency. Based on the high-strength, single-pigment UV flexographic printing PureTone  Monolox enables the Production of any spot colour with just one anilox volume. This eliminates the need for time-consuming and costly retooling, reduces press downtime and minimises Waste is minimised and fluctuations are eliminated, so that the systems can run again and again. At the same time, it enables print shops to set up at high speed, reduce ink consumption by up to 30 per cent and reduce the overall investment required to purchase new anilox rollers.

The intelligent choice of printing colours is important for this. The system is designed for use with PureTone inks, which are both strong and balanced enough to produce each colour from a halftone print volume. This range of colours meets the requirements of ISO 12647 for process colours. 

Colour of the PureTone range for labels
(Image: Pulse Roll Label Products)

With a fixed anilox roll and a bespoke mixing database from Pulse Roll Label Products containing all the information required for instant colour matching, the strength of the PureTone base inks means printers can easily create a Achieve Delta E of less than two. This ink makes it easy to print right first time, and it enables the Printing of half and full tones with just one plate. Combined with the other efficiencies that Monolox can achieve, it's easy to see why it's the perfect tool for improving throughput.

Acceleration for special colours

Label printing becomes more efficient with colours from the PureTone range
(Image: Pulse Roll Label Products)

The advantages of monolox printing in terms of speed, efficiency and reliability are becoming increasingly important as 7-colour printing becomes more widespread in the flexo label printing sector. CMYKOGV printing offers a Faster set-up and less waste, as long as companies ensure that the orange, green and violet inks are strong enough to support CMYK effectively. 

However, CMYKOGV still cannot be used for 100 per cent of flexo print jobs, as spot colours are still required for certain applications. Monolox enables print shops to use any colour they want. Produce special colours with just one anilox roller, which speeds up the spot colour printing process considerably. 

Monolox Fixed Anilox Printing has been tested in practice and has proven to be easy to implement - in less than a week. The system can be used to Manual steps eliminated during printing are realised. End results are improved and capacity is increased, allowing printers to print more with existing resources - helping them to unlock new efficiencies, standardise production and maximise capacity.

Source: Pulse Roll Label Products

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