Heidelberg and Gallus organized a two-day event, called Label & More, on 18 and 19 December at the Avery Dennison Innovation and Knowledge Centre near Pune to inaugurate and demonstrate the Gallus Labelmaster 440 press that has replaced the Gallus ECS 340 at the training center. Partners for the event were Dupont, Flint, Esko, ITC, Max Films, Jani Sales, Numex Blocks, Pradeep Polyflex, Rotometrics, Univacco, and Zecher. The event was attended by more than 80 packaging printers from the flexo and offset segments around the country.
Ferdinand Rüesch, senior vice president for global key accounts at Heidelberg Gallus, addressed the gathering and said that the Indian label industry has benefitted from the knowledge center and the partnership. “Sharing the know-how, getting the ideas for innovation, and having a place where solutions are found, all the partners have made the Avery Dennison Innovation and Knowledge Centre a big success,” he said.
Samir Patkar president, Heidelberg India, also thanked all the partners for making the ADIKC a success. “The label industry in India has seen a tremendous transformation in the
last decade or so, and the Knowledge Centre has played a major role. Every partner has played a role; it has been a collaborative effort,” Patkar said.
The Labelmaster 440 that recently installed at the ADIKC is a gearless and shaftless press with eight flexo printing units. It also has a cold foil and die-cut unit. The press can handle roll to roil and roll to sheet printing on substrate widths of 440 mm.
The Labelmaster 440 press was added to the Labelmaster family about two years ago and, within two years, reached 100 installations globally. The 440 press is already nearing double-digit installations in India and seems to have displaced the Gallus ECS 340 in its popularity among leading label converters. During the two-day event, the press handled multiple jobs. On the first day, the press printed a self-adhesive coffee label with matt/gloss value additions. In this job, the substrate was from Avery Dennison, the UV flexo ink from Flint, UV flexo varnish from Flint, and Saphira, the doctor blade was from Gallus, the anilox from Zecher-SteppedHex and the die-cutting tools from Rotometrics. Quick changeovers were demonstrated from labels to shrink sleeves, and the Labelmaster 440 printed a 50-micron mono shrink film as well, on the first day.
On the second day, the press produced a multicolor carton on a 220 gsm board with flexo printing, inline foiling, and special varnish effects. In the same pass and inline, it converted the printed and decorated web into individual blanks using the die-cutting station. Monocartons were printed, coated, foiled, and converted, all inline, in a single pass. The substrate was from ITC, the UV flexo ink from Flint, UV flexo varnish also from Flint and Saphira, doctor blade was from Gallus, anilox from Zecher-SteppedHex, die cutting tools from Rotometrics and the printing cylinder was from Gallus.
The Labelmaster, which is built and delivered in 2-unit modules, comes in both 340mm and 440 mm widths. There are two models in the series – Classic and Advanced. While the Classic model requires 5 to 10 minutes for a pit stop (changeover) and has to be switched off, the Advanced version of the press does not need to be switched off. The press design allows moving the screen and die-cutting units to any position in the configuration.
The Labelmaster press shown at the open house had an infeed unit with dancer rollers and a tensioning unit and a web cleaner that add considerable flexibility to the press. While the web path is very short between print units, it is possible to have a long web path for flat whites and varnishes, keeping in mind that flat whites often require more time for settling and curing. Overall, the idea of the demonstrations was to show printers that the dynamics of paper and flexible substrates vary. Even the same substrate can vary according to its widths and thickness – all key to understanding and installing a flexible press – one that can productively print and convert labels, shrink sleeves, and cartons. In mold labels can also be efficiently printed on the Labelmaster 440.
