At the "label makers" of Erhard Küchler GmbH, a Smag iconcept supplied by trading partner Chromos GmbH combines the areas of finishing and converting in a single line
Label printers like Erhard Küchler GmbH from Esslingen-Berkheim, who serve a wide range of customers, need a production line with particularly variable technology. With the installation of a new iconcept production line from Smag Graphique, the company has significantly expanded its options in the field of screen printing - previously limited to very narrow applications up to 165 mm. "This was a gap in our programme for a long time," explains managing director Dirk Handler, "and we don't like gaps like that!" The fact that the latest investment also offers other advantages is described in this article.
Because Corona was just spreading again at the time of the interview, the conversation with Dirk Handler had to take place online. On the one hand, the author regrets this, since personal contact and on-site impressions are always important cornerstones for an informative article. At the same time, for the Erhard Küchler label printing company it means that the many possibilities of the newly installed technology cannot be adequately presented to customers. Haptic and visual details of finishes are difficult to convey via video conferences.
A leap of faith enables a quick start
Despite the adverse circumstances, Dirk Handler is very satisfied with the start-up phase of the commissioning at the beginning of November 2021. He attributes the fact that this was possible in part to good partnership relations with both suppliers and customers. Two customers had already placed corresponding orders before the machine was installed. One company even scheduled a relaunch so that the new technology could be used. "Such 'entry-level' orders mean a strong leap of faith. But we had to take the same leap of faith in our supply partners," explains Dirk Handler. He cites Chromos GmbH as an example. The Augsburg-based service and trading company has been looking after the German market for the French machine manufacturer Smag Graphique for more than twenty years. In this role, Chromos was also able to justify the trust placed in it by the label printer Erhard Küchler. According to Dirk Handler, the Chromos sales and technical team earned high marks - both for their support during the decision-making phase and for the entire organisation of press acceptance and support.
The fact that the schedule was also adhered to and the dates of the training courses were flexibly adjusted was particularly important in view of the production orders already planned. The decision in favour of Chromos was made easier by the fact that the Esslingen-Berkheim facility already had good experience with the company. After all, there are several Aniflo machines from Codimag in the production hall, and the models from this machine manufacturer are also part of the Chromos GmbH programme.
Steep learning curve thanks to screen-printing supply partner
The fast and successful start with the new iconcept was also facilitated by Remigius Schneider GmbH in Kornwestheim. They supply the screen printing forms and contributed a great deal of dedicated know-how on all aspects of screen printing. This ranges from advice on fabric selection to on-site support. Since the new machine uses screens in 450x450 mm format, the handling differs significantly from the previous jobs with a maximum web width of 165 mm. Küchler was thus challenged to find out as quickly as possible in the following months such parameters as suitable mesh types and coatings as well as the optimal squeegee position for the various applications.
Unusual effects attract attention
"With the technical possibilities of the iconcept, cool effects can be realised. They ensure that our customers get more attention for their products, and the challenges of creative implementation are fun for us, too," says Dirk Handler. This suits the label printer well, as in recent months segments such as wine, spirits and fashion have proven to be growth segments for which labels with a high degree of finishing are of particular importance. Labels with special effects are also ideally suited, among other things, to the trend towards more manufactory-like companies such as breweries in the growing craft beer scene.
The equipment of the existing Aniflo presses with a web width of 420 mm already allowed hot foil stamping or the printing of metallic inks. But the possibilities of screen printing, such as relief varnish, luminescence or metallic pigment effects, were not available on a large scale. Dirk Handler has considered this a real gap for quite some time. "Because we have the claim 'There's no such thing as can't', we definitely wanted to close this gap." In the past, Küchler has also realised effects such as scented varnishing or the use of afterglow inks in flexo printing. However, the results are limited in their effect. For example, the luminosity and effect duration of luminescent inks can be significantly increased with the use of screen printing. And the higher layer thickness in screen printing ensures stronger effects with scented varnishes. In addition, this printing process exerts less pressure on the microcapsules containing the fragrances, so that the entire production hall is not flooded with the respective scent during processing.
Finishing and packaging in one pass
The possibilities of the new production line are by no means limited to finishing. Contrary to the original idea of installing an offline screen-printing system as a stand-alone variant - possibly supplemented with a die-cutting station - Küchler decided to combine it with a complete finishing operation. "With this charming solution, we kill several birds with one stone," says Dirk Handler. For example, it saves a separate work step because the screen printing finishing can be done in one pass with the finishing that is required anyway. Integrating screen printing into the printing process as usual, on the other hand, had not been an option because the high-quality finishing should be available in connection with all the machines and printing processes used in the company. By moving it to the finishing area, all jobs - regardless of whether they are produced in offset, letterpress or flexo - can be finished in the same way without having to install the corresponding technology on all presses. Moreover, no additional press pass is required for this.
Despite the concentration on one press, the proportion of jobs with special screen printing effects in the current run spectrum is too small to fully utilise the press. Consequently, the combination with a die-cutting unit and a complete finishing unit is a great advantage in terms of economic efficiency. In this way, the iconcept can also be used to produce blank labels. It replaces a somewhat older flexo press that was equipped with two inking units and was mainly used for the production of neutral logistics labels.
Three-axis winder as a technical delicacy
The iconcept at Küchler has a particularly practical feature in store in the form of a special winder. Coming from the same parent web, this special device enables the simultaneous use of different core cores as well as outer or inner winding on each of the three axes. The company uses this speciality, for example, for orders from publishing houses where labels are delivered to international locations in parallel. These often have individual requirements for the winding direction and dimensions of the cores, which differ from one another. With the help of the special three-axis winder, such orders can be completed directly after production without time-consuming rewinding processes and without negative effects on the web tension. This helpful function sometimes reduces multiple winding processes to a single pass.
The fact that the special equipment also functions reliably in practice as desired has already been confirmed in the first few weeks after commissioning. On the one hand, this is beneficial for the workflow and the efficiency of production, but on the other hand, it also minimises a constant source of errors. "The more complex the requirements are, the more can go wrong," Dirk Handler knows from experience. "The possibility of being able to assemble differently on each of the three axes is very helpful for us to avoid expensive mistakes, complaints and dissatisfied customers." Moreover, because the job set-up is carried out by the machine personnel who are already familiar with the complex job, there is no need for another person in a downstream production process to deal with the specifics of the individual variants. Especially for this case, it is probably also advantageous that an employee from the finishing department is responsible for the iconcept as machine operator. For setting up the screen printing unit, she can receive support from a colleague from the printing department if necessary.
Platform for application-specific module combination
The staffing is probably also due to the fact that, in addition to the screen printing unit for finishing effects, it is mainly modules for converting processes that are used. Küchler was able to choose from a wide range of servo-driven modules with automatic register control from Smag. They can be assembled on the platform of the iconcept series to form a customised combination with several processes for label production. In addition to flexo and screen printing units and cold or hot foil embossing in flatbed or semi-rotary versions, this also includes modules for laminating, embossing, die-cutting, cutting, winding and marking. In addition, applications such as Delam-Relam or the insertion of RFID inlays, tags, booklets, etc. are also available.
As a punching unit, Küchler uses a classic unit with a central 24-inch cylinder as well as feed control and punch length correction. Since the existing Aniflo machines are also equipped with this, the company is familiar with this semi-rotary technology. It offers the great advantage that almost all the punching plates used - including those from the rotary presses - can be used at the iconcept without the need to equip them with several sizes of magnetic cylinder. Placing the die-cutting at this point in the process is advantageous in that it can always be done after the screen printing. Potential difficulties in processing webs that have already been die-cut, e.g. lifting of labels, are thus avoided.
Suitable system for broad-based label printers
In the run-up to the investment, Smag was also faced with a challenge. Because Küchler regularly manufactures products with very small formats, the system must also be able to handle ultra-narrow reels. The web width is typically between 11 mm and 13 mm and the outer diameter of the rolls is around 300 mm. The French manufacturer has successfully mastered this task, as Dirk Handler confirms: "The narrow 'roll discs' can be handled without difficulty thanks to the edge-precise winding and the precise web tension."
All in all, a system like Codimag's iconcept helps a company like Küchler Label Printing to cover a wide range of market segments. The particularly broad focus that the company has been pursuing for many years has proven to be a real advantage, especially during Corona times. This meant that slumps in some order segments could be at least partially compensated for by gains elsewhere.
www.chromos.de
