CONPRINTA product spotlight at latest Corrugated Today
REPRINTED FROM JULY/AUGUST 2019 ISSUE OF CORRUGATED TODAY
CONPRINTA, a market leader in industrial preprint, is complementing digital preprint technology to meet industry demands. The advantages of digital print are quite interesting for the corrugated industry as they fulfill the needs of economical short runs and higher end graphics. Nonetheless, the corrugated industry seeks low cost production and effectiveness. As a matter of fact, digital ink costs for boxes with extensive color coverage can be much higher than like-for-like ink costs of conventional flexographic printing ink for the same color coverage.
product spotlight
The CONPRINTA Technology is different from other analog preprinting alternatives characterized by its unparalleled printing format and the minimization of the machine setup efforts. This is achieved by means of a patented printing “belt” which, in lieu of a cylinder or sleeve, acts as a permanent carrier of the flexographic printing plates. The belt is looped around the print cylinder and a tension roller is precisely guided on both sides by so-called “sprocket pin” wheels (see graphic).
Working with belts enables the CONPRINTA system to produce even the shortest print jobs at low cost as it avoids the upfront investment for a cylinder/sleeve inventory that would otherwise be required for most commonly known analog presses. It is an inline system where the number of printing units is tailored by customer demand.
The printing plates remain on their belts, which eliminates the need for remounting of plates to cylinder/sleeve prior to job reprinting. The lightweight belts can be moved with ease to their respective place of use, even large-format printing images (110-inch wide x 177-inch length). Unproductive efforts in regard to moving and storing bulky and sensitive tooling are avoided.
By integrating industry proven digital technology using CMYK water-based inks, the result is a real inline CONPRINTA hybrid system. Combining analog and digital print in a designated press enables highest quality preprint. Conprinta offers innovative technology and software for true “Preprint on Demand,” an economical process solution that supports maximum flexibility.
The machines are available in multiple widths.
The future outlook for hybrid printing is promising. In the high print resolution area of an image, digital print has advantages over classic analog flexographic print. Analog flexographic printing outscores digital in terms of quality and costs when it comes to larger spot color coverage.
CONPRINTA defines the benchmark for cost-effective and highly flexible on demand graphic box production and is a market leader in hybrid preprint.
