PJL-32

I_Print: creativity in printing technology!

In these last few years, the evolution in converting processes has led to an increase in the level of automation.

Constantly more intelligent and evolved machines have set the pace for companies working in the field. High cycle rates, new automated reel change systems, reduction in product change times are just some of the innovations we have witnessed in this last decade. What really makes a machine innovative and unique? What are the aspects that carry the greatest importance in the production process? Surely, line efficiency and the number of logs produced are consolidated goals that every machine manufacturer must keep in primary consideration.

 

Perini Journal

Being in the leading edge today means expanding the confines of technology and offering new, focused solutions aimed at improving the entire converting process. It is with this spirit that Fabio Perini S.p.A. dedicates great attention to the technological aspect, to the environment and to the importance of improving the working conditions of the operators in charge of the machines. From this latter concept stems the I_Print mod. 984/4 printer: a new, superior-category machine that conjugates technology and ingeniousness.

 

BORN WITH THE SCOPE OF SIMPLIFYING THE WORK OF THE OPERATOR, this model features the PCS – Positioning Control System – patented by Fabio Perini S.p.A.: a new, revolutionary system that makes this model autonomous and unique. The process is completely controlled by the operator and ensures the utmost precision even at high speeds (760 meters/min). Unique and innovative is also the constructive approach that lies behind the I_Print model printer: simplifying the activity of the operator and managing the four-color printing process by simply pressing a button. The product change phases are performed through panel, thus reducing the possibilities of error, making the machine safer, more efficient and quickening the entire process. And the novelty that confers “intelligence” to the entire line is that problems connected with any erroneous use of the machine are reduced by 80%. Technical interventions that were previously performed directly on the machine by qualified personnel are today completely automatic. An example is product adjustment set without the operator having to enter inside the machine. After the initial phasing process, the I_Print printer memorizes the data that remains as reference in case the machine has to be re-started.

 

I_PRINT IS FUNCTIONAL ALSO IN DESIGN. New stylistic solutions have allowed strengthening the structure of the most critical points that are solicited by high speeds, thus ensuring greater precision in printing. Quality guaranteed also in the choice of the rolls: rigorously in carbon fiber, hence more rigid, lighter and vibration-free for greater stability during the printing process. For more than ten years now, Fabio Perini S.p.A. has chosen to use carbon fiber for the production of rolls (see PJL # 31). The strategic choice to use composite materials favors the production of more compact machines, determines an increment in working speeds, contributes to energy savings and performance is enhanced thanks to vibration reduction.

 

I_PRINT EMBODIES LEADING EDGE TECHNOLOGY AND ENSURES EXTREMELY HIGH PRODUCTION FLEXIBILITY. By mounting variable-diameter cliché rolls (from a minimum of 220 mm to a maximum of 480 mm), finished rolls having different perforation lengths and each sheet phased with printing can be produced. To complete the printing accuracy of this new model is the cleaning system. The color management system with four independent color channels and a recirculation washing cycle with automatic water discharge, not only ensures a high quality standard of the finished product, but also respects production efficiency criteria: just 15 minutes are needed to clean all the color units. Automatic control and correction of color viscosity, temperature and pH guarantee a perfect quality finished product.

 

ATTENTION TO ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS IS A PHILOSOPHY WITH WHICH FABIO PERINI S.P.A. DESIGNS AND MANUFACTURES ITS MACHINES. For this reason, I_Print in equipped with a waste water cleaning system. The water involved in the washing cycle is collected in a cleaning station which, utilizing the principle of coagulation, separates the ink from the water, purifying it and making it available for subsequent cycles. This revolutionary technology also features the new PHC system (Phasing Control), that monitors the printing quality and automatically resolves any small problems that may arise during the process. Fabio Perini S.p.A. is today a consolidated entity thanks to its long-standing experience in the field of converting technology: a business partner capable not only of proposing technology aimed at improving the production process, but also of offering new, creative solutions for the finished product. The perfect union between technology and aesthetics: this is the real plus that Fabio Perini S.p.A. is able to offer today. The aesthetic aspect of the product has always been object of numerous evolutions. Firstly, the evolution of embossing systems has led to a substantial change in the products present on the market. And the printing system, too, confers a particular aesthetic appeal and an added value to the product, making it an object of marketing. In the course of the years, product printing has been consistently improved. If we briefly look back at the history of the printing process, we can highlight the fact that just 20 years ago, we were speaking about line printing. Products were printed in one color using rubber printed cliché plates and the subjects were not very elaborated, simple and basic on a graphic level. The clichés were dedicated to each color and changing the printing pattern necessarily meant changing the color. This inevitably meant substantial machine – and hence production – stoppages. Printing the rubber cliché was also very expensive and time-consuming. Half way through the 1990s, Fabio Perini S.p.A. introduced Process Printing and products’ aesthetic appeal was substantially improved.

With this new system, pantone colors are replaced by the colors of process printing: (CMYK) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, and the final product’s quality also improved enormously due to the possibility of printing more elaborate décors and subjects. This system also conferred depth to the pattern design. These two printing methods – line and process – were and are in any case “limited” by the type of subjects that can be reproduced on the web: the printed element repeats itself after a complete rotation of the cliché roll. Original and innovative is instead the new printing process developed and patented by the Research Division of Fabio Perini S.p.A. and implemented on the new I_Print model printer. This process is called Infinity and is a new printing concept that revolutionizes the finished product on a creative level, whether this be a kitchen towel or a toilet roll. It is based on the use of different-diameter cliché rolls. A practical example helps to better understand this revolutionary technology. Using photopolymer, line-engraved cliché plates and/or half tones, it is possible to decorate 251.85-mm-long kitchen towel roll sheets by placing:

 

• on the first color, a cliché plate the length of five sheets (cliché roll diameter 400.83 mm);

• on the second color, a cliché plate the length of three sheets (cliché roll diameter 240.5 mm);

• on the third color, a cliché plate the length of four sheets (cliché roll diameter 320.66 mm);

• on the fourth color, a cliché plate the length of six sheets (cliché roll diameter 481 mm).

 

This configuration will ensure that each different décor is repeated only every 60 sheets. Hence the infinite graphic possibilities that can be had on the rolls. On each cliché roll, a different pantone color (for example green, orange, purple and blue in succession). The innovative Infinity system unites flexibility and ease of use, conjugating the aesthetic aspect with a winning, unique technology. Each sheet can become a marketing vehicle and spur new ideas for products aimed at new market targets or at different uses. The possibility of housing a wide range of different-diameter cliché rolls on the new I_Print, allows producing 60 or more different décors on kitchen towel rolls, independently of the chosen perforation length. For a toilet roll product, from 500 to 2500 different décors can be obtained. The use of the Infinity system, together with the innovative performances of the I_Print by Fabio Perini S.p.A. will yield uniquely exclusive products, stimulating the imagination of marketing and publicity experts. Communicating innovation and innovating in communication stand as the basis of Fabio Perini S.p.A.’s company philosophy. In this specific case, we can speak of form and substance in technology and design. I_Print: creativity in printing technology!

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