One of the Middle East's leading suppliers of flexible packaging, Dubai-based Positive Packaging United, has specified QuadTech's Autotron 2600 with the Clear Logic Register Guidance System for its new Cerutti gravure press, in order to ensure a high-quality, defect- free supplies of material.
Positive Packaging United is boosting its capacity with another state-of-the- art press in order to meet the growing demand for high-quality flexible packaging in the Middle East.
"We see the inclusion of automated press controls as vital, in order to assure consistently high quality standards demanded by local consumer goods customers, whose brands depend on distinctive, high-impact packaging to succeed," commented Mr. Pranesh Kankanwadi, Managing Director of Positive Packaging United.
Headquartered in Mumbai and part of the Enpee Group, Positive Packaging has become one of the large flexible packaging suppliers, with monthly output of over 4000 tonnes (approximately 8.8 million lb) across manufacturing facilities in India, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates. The Dubai Factory, Positive Packaging United supplies a host of major global brand owners, such as Henkel, Mars, Nestle and Unilever, as well as many niche brands.
QuadTech's Autotron 2600 with ClearLogic was selected by Positive Packaging United because it provides accurate register control on any gravure press. Specialized, compact solid-state MiniCam scanning heads can detect a wide range of pale and low-contrast marks, such as glues, varnishes, inks and transparent surfaces, without compromise in performance.
The size of a 35mm film canister, the MiniCam is small enough to be placed very close to the nips of a press.
The Autotron 2600 with ClearLogic enables the Positive Packaging United team to meet the increasing demand for design complexity, where precise control over trapping, repeat length and pattern consistency are vital. Sophisticated surface finishes, a greater number of colors, reverse printing and finer design detail are standard requirements on printing jobs.
ClearLogic, the user interface, features user-friendly screens that require fewer touches, removing much of the complexity potentially involved in the set-up process. The packaging-specific software accompanying the system is compatible with a wide range of materials and die-cutting processes. This is highly beneficial to a company like Positive Packaging, which converts many opaque, transparent and reflective substrates, such as BOPP, metalized film, high-gloss cast polypropylene film.
The system offers fast set-up times of just a few minutes, even when changing to a different substrate type and thickness. This simplicity is ideal for an environment like Positive Packaging where productivity depends on minimal downtime as nearly half of the company's jobs are between 25,000 and 30,000 linear meters.
Autotron's mark-recognition system helps reduce make-ready waste by locking on to even low-contrast marks at make-ready. It provides secure mark localization and a quick transition to the new production substrate without needing to stop the press. In this way, makeready waste can be confined to a few hundred web-meters.
A key factor in the decision to invest in the Autotron 2600 system was the close relationship that Positive Packaging has enjoyed with QuadTech for many years. "QuadTech's technical support crew provides training sessions so that the operators can exploit the full potential of the system from the beginning. We also receive on-line remote diagnostics, to prevent any problems from emerging," Mr. Pranesh Kankanwadi explained.
