Komori Corporation announced today the launch of the PEPIO offset gravure press line, designed for the manufacture of printed electronics (PE). With its long history in the design and development of web and sheetfed offset presses, as well as high precision intaglio printing technologies for the securities and currency markets, the design of specialty gravure presses for the PE market was the next logical addition to the Komori press line.

The new machines will be introduced at the Touch Taiwan exhibition to be held August 29-31, 2012, in Taipei, Taiwan. On display will be the PEPIO F20 flatbed gravure offset press and the PEPIO R20, roll-to-roll offset gravure press.

The PEPIO F20 is a flatbed gravure offset press designed for the manufacture of touchpanels, a market that is forecast to grow in the future. The target substrates are glass and film.

The PEPIO F20 is a high precision printing press that integrates Komori’s latest technologies, and can print on entirely new printing materials such as glass and film. With this state of the art technology, the PEPIO F20 produces, through gravure offset printing, a very fine line width of L/S=30/30 μm or less, which meets the narrow bezel requirement of projected capacitive touchpanels. This achievement, which until now could not be produced through the printing process, will be a major contribution to the development of printed electronics.

The specifications for the highly productive PEPIO F20 are as follows:

Printing speed                            0.5 – 20 m/min

Substrate size                           250 x 250 mm – 520 x 600 mm

Substrate thickness                    45 – 250 μm (Option : 3 mm MAX.)

Maximum printing area                 500 x 580 mm

The PEPIO R20 is a continuous roll-to-roll gravure offset press aimed at next-generation high productivity in printing fine lines. The target substrate is roll film.

While the target market of this press is the same as that of the PEPIO F20, it enables printing of fine lines with a line width of 50 μm or less with high productivity. Because the PEPIO R20 is a roll-to-roll type machine that prints on film, it uses the Komori Smart Alignment System and a center position control system to ensure high-precision position alignment.

The specifications for the PEPIO R20 include:

Printing speed                            1 – 10 m/min

Substrate width                         250 x 250 mm

Substrate thickness                    45 – 200 μm

Maximum printing area                 500 x 610 mm

“First and foremost, Komori is an expert in precision manufacturing, and the entry into the printed electronics marketplace reinforces Komori’s message at drupa 2012 that we are expanding into new markets,” says Kosh Miyao, President and COO of Komori America Corporation. “We are very excited about this new product offering, not only for the opportunities for business growth it provides, but as further evidence of Komori’s commitment to the advancement of printing technology.”