Troika Systems Limited, Highworth, a UK company has announced the release of an enhancement to its AniCAM product, a measurement tool for anilox rolls used on narrow and wide web and corrugated flexo presses.
The latest enhancement has led to the company releasing two versions of the specialist camera-based unit, AniCAM-P and AniCAM-M. The two new variants are targeted at specific markets – AniCAM-P for flexographic print producers and AniCAM-M for anilox roll manufacturers. “Our research and our experiences with the first generation of AniCAM product has shown us that the requirements of anilox manufacturers differ slightly from printers needs,” said Phil Hall, The new AniCAM-M product provides many additional features, including the ability to read more complex engravings such as trihelical, emerald and HVP, as well as “Press-O-Film” aluminium foil cell profiling materials.
AniCAM-P for Printers
Effective anilox roll management has the potential to save a flexo printer a significant amount of press downtime. Measuring and archiving volume readings for each roll helps to monitor cleaning issues as well as wear of the roll – both major causes of press downtime. By reducing machine downtime by just 2% the owner of three presses running double-day shift could save over €300,000 over a three year period – significantly more than the €10,350 investment that would be required to purchase the AniCAM-P.
Wider Market
Whilst AniCAM-P will be targeted initially at the flexographic printing sector, many lithographic printers may also find a need for this solution. The majority of high-performance coating units on litho presses are based on a flexo printing system. Printings with a keen eye for the quality and consistency of coating should be measuring their anilox rolls. In addition to this a number of recent press introductions, including the Heidelberg Anicolor and KBA’s Cortina, Karat and Rapida G machines, incorporate anilox rollers within their inking system. “Such developments need a quality control solution, and AniCAM-P offers the ability to measure the important detail on such machines,” concluded Phil Hall.
