In This Issue:
Revisited: Precise Web Control’s Role in Film Converting
In Brief: Flexo Tension Control
Revisited: Precise Web Control’s Role in Film Converting
Excerpt: “In today’s competitive marketplace, manufacturers and converters are under pressure to satisfy varied and often conflicting demands. In a time when customers carry little in the way of inventory, manufacturers and converters must strive to meet customer on-time delivery demands. At the same time customers look to their suppliers for improved performance at lower cost. If these requirements were not in themselves a challenge – converters must process materials that can be both varied and potentially problematic. All of these requirements must be met in order to remain competitive.
Unlike materials such as paper, glass and foils; plastic and plastic film materials are relatively new materials. For the brand owner, the retailer and others, plastic films provide many advantages, allowing manufacturers and converters to address a varied range of requirements. For example, thinner gauged films reduce material costs, while different multi-layer structures, developed using co-extrusion, extrusion lamination, adhesive lamination and coating provide a range of performance properties, such as barriers against aroma, light, fats, gas and moisture…”
In Brief: Flexo Tension Control
Excerpt: “A key area of development, which has impacted all processes has been the advances made in tension control systems.= The ability to measure and control has and will continue to be fundamental to the success of all web-based converting operations, including flexography. Without the ability to measure and control web tension accurately, numerous process inconsistencies will arise.
Poor tension control through inappropriate or outdated tension control systems greatly affects the ability to produce quality product. The costly and often extensible nature of many materials combined with today’s emphasis on speed-to-market has meant that converters can no longer afford to tolerate suspect tension\ control systems. They demand systems that are highly responsive in order to minimize make-ready, maximize uptime and achieve optimum output on a wide range of materials with minimal waste.
Tension control impacts many areas of an operation, some obvious, so not as obvious. For example, a registration control system is used to automatically adjust the image printed by one station relative to the images printed on the other press stations without continual operator interference. However, a limit to the system’s ability to regulate register is imposed if tension is not properly regulated.”