Gallus Cold Die Unit – cutting costs by processing ultra-thin materials
The prototype of the Gallus Cold Die Unit developed for use with the Avery Dennison ThinStreamTM Technology was unveiled to the public at Labelexpo Europe 2011 in Brussels. The live demonstrations at Avery Dennison's stand proved extremely popular with visitors from a wide range of different sectors.
When used in conjunction with patented Avery Dennison ThinStreamTM Technology, the Gallus Cold Die Unit will make it possible to produce labels with liners as thin as just 12 microns. This technology completely eliminates the need for kiss-cutting, one of the main problems in the label industry.
Trend towards ultra-thin materials
Growing competition and increasing pressure on manufacturing costs are forcing label printers to improve their production strategy on an ongoing basis. The associated need to boost productivity, cut costs and minimise waste has long been the driving force behind the development of ultra-thin face stock and liners.
The revolutionary Avery Dennison ThinStream™ Technology is a cutting-edge solution that ensures less waste and higher productivity. The ultra-thin liner is just 12 microns thick, which is around 50% thinner than the designs currently available on the market. The benefits can be summarised as follows:
- At least 17% more labels per reel
- Fewer reel changes, more storage space and enhanced productivity
- At least 40% less liner waste
- Lower freight, handling and disposal costs
Reducing the thickness of liners is the first step in an ongoing process to lower overall costs. These costs will be cut further still in the future thanks to thinner face stock. In addition to reducing both freight and disposal costs, the far thinner products will also further boost productivity.
The aim of the cooperation between Avery Dennison and Gallus is to provide the state-of-the-art process technologies required for new materials of this kind.
High-performance diecutting technology
It was previously impossible to process materials with liners less than 23 microns thick using conventional diecutting processes due to the associated process problems. The Gallus Cold Die Unit with Avery Dennison ThinStream™ technology has now broken through this 23-micron barrier and is ideal for problem-free processing of liners as thin as 12 microns.
The liner is delaminated from the face stock in the Gallus Cold Die Unit. The face stock is transported through the diecutting unit using a unique web-feed concept. Diecutting takes place from the reverse side using a cooled diecutting cylinder. Only once the diecutting process is complete is the liner relaminated onto the face stock. Thanks to the innovative concept of its diecutting unit, the Gallus Cold Die Unit combines impressive diecutting quality at high speeds of up to 200 m/min. with outstanding register accuracy.
The Gallus Cold Die Unit ensures non-stop productivity by completely eliminating one of the biggest quality problems across the sector – kiss-cutting the liner.
Enthusiastic response to new diecutting technology
The prototype of the Gallus Cold Die Unit is currently undergoing a field test under production conditions as an offline machine. It has already successfully processed several different materials, including paper. The first phase is to produce samples with potential applications and the second phase is to switch production to the new material. The sampling process for initial ultra-thin liner applications is currently under way.
Gallus and Avery Dennison are continuing their development activities with a view to integrating the Gallus Cold Die Unit into a label press for inline production. The Gallus Cold Die Unit will be available for delivery as an offline machine from the second half of 2013.