Hybrid printing press to boost performance for shrink sleeves, lids

Greater production efficiency, flexibility and state-of-the art capabilities are benefits that lids and shrink sleeve manufacturer Nyco said it can offer after investing in a new hybrid printing press.

The Swiss firm said the five-colour Drent Goebel VSOP combination press will be used to produce full surface and reverse shrink sleeves, and wrap-around labels for products in the dairy, confectionery, beverage, fresh foods and pharmaceutical markets.

The new equipment, which consists of five UV-offset units, one UV-flexo unit and one gravure unit, will also help increase capacity as it runs at 300 metres per minute, said Nyco. This combination of offset, flexography and gravure printing in one single printing press is new state-of-the-art technology that will enable new product finishes, a company spokesman told FoodProductionDaily.com.

Offset printing is a technique that sees the ink transferred from a hard plate to a soft rubber blanket and then on to the printing surface - plastic shrink sleeves and foil lids, in Nyco’s case, he said.

“It gives high quality print at relatively large volumes at good levels of efficiency as the set-up and turnaround times are good,” added the spokesman. “Generally speaking, offset sits between flexo and roto gravure in terms of quality, speed and cost, thus also midway between the two in the volumes produced and the runs. Flexo is used for shorter runs, roto gravure for longer ones.”

Nyco said its own state-of-the-art pre-press, slitting and sleeving, die-cutting and web inspection equipment would dovetail as an effective back up to the new printing kit.

Faster turn-around

Company general manager Christian Steeb said: “This investment provides us with even faster turn-around on work for our customers while elevating our high-quality finish capability to totally new levels of excellence. The new combination press has shorter set up times and allows for more efficient format changes, as well as giving us increased flexibility to support our extensive press combinations.”

Nyco, part of the Flexible Packaging Division of the Clondalkin Group, specialises in the manufacture of printed lids and sleeves for the dairy, confectionery, fresh foods and beverage and pharmaceutical markets in Switzerland and the rest of Europe.