Go, Speed Racer

Turnaround times are critical in today’s package-printing world. Couple quick turnaround with the demand for shorter runs, and your press operators will be switching tools almost constantly. Diecutting is an integral part of the entire printing process and can impact the speed at which you can fulfill print orders.

Just as diecutting impacts the speed of your print job, external forces, such as consolidation, globalization, new substrates and shorter runs, affect the ­diecutting market.

“The label printing industry as a whole has been changing rapidly in recent years,” says Frank Hasselberg, executive vice president, Kocher + Beck USA. “These changes also have a huge impact on the diecutting market as a supplying industry. [The] main changes that we are observing are faster and wider presses, more combination of printing processes, and use of digital printing. At the same time, we are seeing shorter runs, faster press changes, and smaller jobs.” He adds that use of lighter label stocks that would have been considered as unable to convert in recent years are now enjoying increased usage.

Mark Rasmussen, product manager, packaging, Heidelberg USA, Inc., adds more to the speed/substrate argument. “Traditionally, it’s always been simple paper or paperboard. [Now] you start getting into plastics, thinner plastics, in-mold label materials, and lightweight holographic foil stamp—elements that didn’t exist five or 10 years ago,” he says. “Things that people never thought about doing in the process of sheetfed printing or diecutting [were done] on some other kind of process, maybe a web process. Now with some of the new technologies, we’re able to show customers that not only can you run these types of products, but you can run them at speeds you never expected to.”

Bill Reichard, president and CEO of Gerhardt USA, states that competition and price pressure are pushing label converters to optimize all aspects of their manufacturing processes. “Synthetic face materials and ultra-thin liners are becoming more common,” he says. “Inventories are decreasing, with just-in-time delivery to maximize floor space and increase capacity. To help reduce costs and optimize their processes, label converters are rapidly making the switch from solid rotary tooling to magnetic cylinders and flexible dies.”

Hasselberg also states that continued globalization has been and continues to be a major topic as fewer die companies supply fewer but bigger multi-plant customers.

Paul Madill, executive vice president and COO of Madern USA, explains how these industry trends have impacted converters. “The folding carton industry is in the final stages of consolidation. The merger and acquisition of major carton converters has been ongoing for the last five years,” he says. “The overcapacity in the folding carton industry that previously existed will be eliminated as the major converters finalize their consolidation plans.” He adds that carton converters are receiving contracts for shorter time periods from consumer product companies. Therefore, there will be a need for a wider variety of rotary dies to meet the new demands for lower cost dies and faster deliveries, bringing long-, medium-, and short-run carton applications to be processed on web-fed flexographic printing presses.

So what can converters do? What’s out there for them to address these trends and not break themselves doing it? Michael Wilks, director of marketing for Bunting Magnetics, states that the trends having the greatest impact on the diecutting market are those involving “any technology designed to reduce set-up time, save cost, or increase capabilities.” Here, flexible dies can help. Wilks states that though popular in Europe (75 percent of narrow-web diecutting jobs are performed using magnetic cylinders and flexible dies), just 25 percent of U.S. jobs are performed using magnetic cylinders or flexible dies, with the remaining 75 percent using solid tooled cylinders.

“Today, more than ever, converters are tracking the cost of rotary tooling and the revolution counts that these dies yield,” says Bob Potratz, Action Rotary Die. “For this reason, magnetic dies have had a major impact on changing the landscape of rotary diecutting.” He explains that magnetic dies can now cut a variety of substrates, and since the cost of magnetic dies can be substantially less, they are practical for short and long runs.

Machine maintenance is also critical. “It seems like converters are becoming a lot smarter about business,” says Garrik Kumijan, General Metal Engraving. “They’ve realized that investing in machine maintenance makes money. And the greater competition creates a greater need for more efficient machinery and processes.” For Kumijan, that means ensuring converters employ a proper anvil maintenance program. “The secret is out. A fresh anvil roller is one of the most critical components of good diecutting,” he says. “We are happy to say that our most profitable customers have become savvy with lean concepts and are investing more in their anvil rollers than every before. We’ve even started offering carbide anvils, and they’ve been producing tremendous results.”

The following is a sample of related products that can help you choose what diecutting technology to adopt.

Rotary diecutting alternative
Punch units for very long runs requiring clean and consistent hole evacuation or for materials that are difficult to cut can be manufactured for platform mounting or as modules that can be placed into the press die station. To remove the waste, a vacuum system can be attached to the die cylinder or rings.—Tools & Production, Inc., www.toolsandproduction.com.

Diecutting for flexible packaging
Rotoflex International has announced servo diecutting technology specifically designed for down-gauging flexible packaging requirements. The DLI eDrive design allows ­diecutting at higher speeds on thin pressure sensitive materials and laminates. Using web transport control technology, the servo-driven die station and infeed/outfeed draw stations provide precision registration control.—Rotoflex International, www.rotoflex.com.

Laser die-making system
Data Technology’s ML Series is a die-making system for the first-time user, a back-up for an existing high-range user, or for establishing an in-house department by an end user. It features a range of sizes and power, and a built-in safety beam security system, a compact footprint, unobstructed table access, ergonomically friendly height, low noise operation, and Windows front-end graphical user interface.—Data Technology, www.data-technology.com.

Anvil rolls
Wilson’s fully hardened anvil rolls are made of tool steel. The company provides either straight or stepped anvil rolls with precision for diecutting quality. Offering both types helps extend the life of the dies when most needed and allows them to be run on liners other than those for which they were made. Wilson anvils are machined and ground on CNC equipment.—Wilson Manufacturing, www.wilsonmfg.com.

Microperforation systems
Schober USA has improved its VentPerf needling tools and systems which are suitable for micro-perforation and cutting of film, paper, foil, laminates, nonwovens, and more. New designs are available to provide ventilation, moisture release, or enhanced product expansion for agricultural and consumer goods packaging, as well as technical materials.—Schober USA, www.schoberusa.com.

CNC dies
RotoMetrics offers the following to meet diecutting needs: the RD80, for most pressure-sensitive applications; the RD90, heat-treated to a higher degree of hardness, making it suitable for longer runs on pressure-sensitive applications, and for some metal-to-metal cutting; the RD100, for multiple-layer expanded content labels; and the RD200, recommended for diecutting thinner filmic materials.—The RotoMetrics Co., www.rotometrics.com. pP

Heidelberg delivers first Dymatrix diecutter in Western Hemisphere

KENNESAW, Ga.—Curtis Packaging, Sandy Hook, Conn., has installed the first Dymatrix 142 CSB diecutter in the Western Hemisphere. The 60-ton diecutter was shipped from Heidelberg Postpress production in Mönchengladbach, Germany. From there, the diecutter was dismantled then shipped via freighter to the U.S. Upon its arrival in New York Harbor, the Dymatrix 142 was sent to Curtis Packaging, becoming the first piece of Heidelberg equipment the company has ever owned.

Now in full production mode at Curtis, the Dymatrix 142 CSB (cutting, stripping, and blanking model) with automatic pallet feeder continues to impress. “So far, it has met or exceeded all our expectations,” says John Giusto, senior vice president of manufacturing. For example, “The Dymatrix cuts from the top down, bringing the die to the sheet rather than bringing the sheet up to the die,” he explains, referring to the moving upper platen that enables the Dymatrix to maintain level sheet travel from feeder to delivery. The Dymatrix also runs quietly and vibration-free, even at speeds to 7,000 sph and beyond. “The scrap evacuation system makes more noise than the Dymatrix,” says Giusto.

Curtis operates the Dymatrix across two 10-hour shifts with one operator and one helper for each shift. “We diecut and do a lot of complicated embossing here at Curtis,” Giusto says. “While we haven’t used the Dymatrix to emboss yet, I have to believe, based on what I’ve seen already, that the Dymatrix will enable us to do it even better.”