Windmoeller & Hoelscher and Flint Group deliver most difficult print jobs in top quality at high speed
K 2019, the world's leading trade exhibition for the plastics and rubber industry, closed its doors after eight extremely busy days in Duesseldorf starting on October 16th, 2019. The 3,333 exhibitors provided impressive evidence that plastic is still an innovative, indispensable and forward-looking material. The 225,000 visitors showed great interest in recycling systems, sustainable raw materials and resource-saving processes in particular. With this, K 2019 sets a clear signal for the responsible use of plastics.
Windmoeller & Hoelscher, specialist for extrusion, printing and converting machines in the flexible packaging market, presented new developments in three areas at K 2019: Efficient production, sustainable packaging and PACKAGING 4.0. While showing highly automated job changes on their new blow film extrusion lines live at the K show, interested customers were also invited to attend print demonstrations with the latest introduced flexographic printing press, the NOVOFLEX II, at the new Technical Center at Lengerich. The NOVOFLEX II is W&H’s promise for maximum productivity through high performance and fast job changes. With a speed of up to 800 m/min, the NOVOFLEX II belongs to the top performance segment.
“With a completely new design of the print deck with a very stiff arrangement of rollers and impression cylinder, we have reduced vibrations and related issues to a new market standard. This enables top quality print results at very high speeds even with critical vibration inducing images”, explains Hermann Veismann, General Manager Business Unit Printing and Finishing, W&H. He continues, “In return, the flexo plates must have exceptional ink transfer capabilities to keep up with the improved design.”
“We immediately realized, that the quality requirements of W&H are one of the most demanding in the market”, adds Dr Uwe Stebani, General Manager Xeikon Prepress. “We started with a joint project team of Flint Group Flexographic and Xeikon Prepress, and really could drive the print quality to a new level for digital flexo plates. Our system solution comprising ThermoFlexX imagers with the breakthrough Woodpecker Nano surface screening technology in combination with the nyloflex® NEF plates and UV LED exposure met the expectations of W&H and, thus, nicely contributed to the overwhelming success of the print demonstrations.”
Friedrich von Rechteren, Global Commercial Vice President of Flint Group Flexographic, added, “It is impressive to see that W&H confirmed our quality aim for superior results on a state of the art high speed flexible printing press. With our new flexographic system for solvent plate processing, customers can achieve a new quality level in flexible packaging produced with an open plate processing system. Similar qualities could only be achieved with closed systems available in the market until now. Woodpecker Nano in combination with Flint Group Flexographic plates, provide significant benefits to our customers with regard to cost and quality and representing a milestone in flexible packaging printing”.
The nyloflex® NEF plate is a high durometer plate for flexible packaging and labels and is specially developed for creation of flat top dots as well as reproduction of surface screening. The combination of UV LEDs and UV tubes allow the definition of various dot shapes and shoulder angles or relief elements. The Woodpecker Nano software enables the output of surface micro structures at imager level, and thus, avoiding the need for costly RIP options. Woodpecker Nano surface screens are perfectly symmetrical and the finest available for LAMs layer digital flexographic plates.
Running the NOVOFLEX II flexographic printing press with a speed of 600 m/min, W&H demonstrated the efficient production of a food style print design “Tortillas” with a unique print quality, high productivity and, consequently, lower total cost of print.