Martin Automatic Inc.

REWINDERS PLAY AN important roll in today's print shops and can make or break a great print run. For example, registration can be right on the mark, color can be perfect, then Whammo!, during the rewinding process the entire roll can "telescope" into a useless pile of wound-up trash. "Maintaining uptime and reducing downtime on the rewinder has been a goal for some time," said Brian Ivens, manager, sales and marketing, Arpeco. "Quality of design and manufacturing has always been a significant method of providing reliability and dependability with equipment." There are many reasons the rewinding process can be a problem, but knowing what

ROCKFORD, Ill.—The Flexographic Trade School (FTS) of Ft. Mill, SC, has received a new STS automatic butt splicer from Martin Automatic. The STS 05-13-31 has been installed on a 10-inch 8-color Mark Andy 2200 press in the school's pressroom. The school runs a number of programs and classes, from introductory courses to advanced operator training. One of the priorities of the school is to go beyond the basics of running a press to learn how to work under real production environment and profitable production flow. "We're excited to have this new Martin splicer," says Jack Duncan, Program Director for FTS. "I'm looking forward to

As always, companies exhibiting at CMM International 2005 put on a display of impressive new products and technologies for converters and package printers. A SUCCESSFUL TRADE show is always measured on an individual basis—foot traffic, promising leads, or signed contracts. While attendees weren't exactly carried down the aisles in a swell of people, CMM International 2005 still offered a wide array of new products and technologies from the exhibiting companies. The following is a small sampling of what CMM International had to offer. Company news Enercon and Ciba Specialty Chemicals announced a joint development agreement which will combine Enercon's surface modification Plasma3™ technology

Proper web guiding, tension, and register control are basic ingredients needed for good print quality results. PRINT REGISTRATION IS one of the first things packagePRINTING's Excellence Awards judges inspect when assessing the print quality of contest entries. For our expert panel, it's an easy variable to assess, and is used as an initial culling point to "separate the men from the boys." Entries will not contend for a first-place finish if they are not produced with good print registration. This is clearly understood in the industry, but not everyone pays enough attention to some of the web-handling issues that directly impact registration, says Henry

A wide array of quality unwinds, rewinds, and splicers provides converters with endless choices. HENRY FORD'S MODEL T made the automobile a permanent fixture in American society. It was mass produced and the working man could afford it. For all its virtues, however, the Model T had one downfall: there were no color options. "The customer can have any color he wants, so long as it's black," Ford said. Up until about two decades ago, converters dealt with a similar situation, though not as simple as color, when looking to invest in winding and splicing equipment. At the time, manufacturers mostly supplied shafted

Look to press suppliers' suggestions, as well as material and tension specs, to make the best unwind/rewind purchase. By Susan Friedman Why venture beyond the standard unwind/rewind system supplied with a press? For package printers, the mission is often to reach a loftier tier of efficiency, productivity or safety. 'Herb' Herbert, president of CTC International, says CTC frequently sells automatic winding equipment to converters seeking a higher level of press automation. "A printing press will always have an unwind and a rewind. But they are not always automatic, unless specified. What comes standard might be a single-arbor unwind and a single-arbor rewind that must

Suppliers continue to tweak splicing equipment for enhanced roll throughput and saleability. by Susan Freidman "Splicing technology is pretty straightforward," states Jerry von Gretener, sales manager at Advanced Web Dynamics, Bloomsburg, PA. He's not alone in his statement. Suppliers agree that a splice is well, a splice...and tape is tape. But subtle design and operation adjustments continue the progression of this finishing process. According to "Herb" Herbert, president of West Caldwell, NJ-based CTC, specialists in narrow-web splicing equipment, the main goal of today's narrow-web splicing technology is refinement—polishing the design approach to higher line speeds, splice accuracy, splice mechanism technology and roll handling.

A web guide technology overview confirms the progression of electronic controls, automation and custom approaches. By Susan Friedman Hardly an unfamiliar concept, web guides are often a taken-for-granted component of presses and converting lines. A closer look at this technology's latest developments can help converters squeeze further efficiencies from even the most intricately tailored press configurations. Web guides' longevity hasn't completely wiped out usage misconceptions. When Allen Rausch, application engineering manager for BST Pro Mark, Elmhurst, IL, is in the field, he often sees guide sensors positioned too far within the exit span of the guide frame. To work best, sensors should be in